| Many of the world's critical technologies—semiconductor chips, fiber-optic cables, MRI scanners, rocket engines, even Netflix—depend on a lighter-than-air element: helium. Helium is a rare resource on Earth, and one that's extremely difficult to capture. In the coming decades, experts expect a global shortage, in part because the way helium is currently mined—alongside natural gas—is environmentally fraught. But a handful of companies specializing in helium exploration and drilling are attempting to redefine how and where the world looks for helium. In a feature on Backchannel, William Ralston follows one of these companies, Helium One, on a recent mission in Tanzania's Rukwa Basin. Helium One's miners seek to tap the first major discovery of helium that is "green," or drilled independently of hydrocarbons. The financial risk is prohibitive, and success is almost unprecedented. But the future of a stable helium supply depends on it. Camille Bromley | Features Editor, WIRED |
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