EXPLAINER-Moon mining - Why major powers are eyeing a lunar gold rush?
Russia launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on Friday amid a race by major powers including the United States, China and India to discover more about the elements held on the earth's only natural satellite.
Russia said that it would launch further lunar missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russian-China crewed mission and even a lunar base. NASA has spoken about a "lunar gold rush" and explored the potential of moon mining.
Why are major powers so interested in what is up there?
The moon, which is 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from our planet, moderates the earth's wobble on its axis which ensures a more stable climate. It also causes tides in the world's oceans.
Current thinking is that it was formed when a massive thing collided with earth about 4.5 billion years ago. The debris from the collision came together to form the moon.
Temperatures vary: in full Sun, they rise to 127 degrees Celsius while in darkness they plummet to about minus 173 degrees Celsius. The moon's exosphere does not give protection against radiation from the Sun.
The first definitive discovery ofwater on the moon was made in 2008 by the Indian mission Chandrayaan-1, which detected hydroxyl molecules spread across the lunar surface and concentrated at the poles, according to NASA.
Water is crucial for human life and also can be a source of hydrogen and oxygen - and these can be used for rocket fuel.
Helium-3 is an isotope of helium that is rare on earth, but NASA says there are estimates of a million tonnes of it on the moon.
This isotope could provide nuclear energy in a fusion reactor but since it is not radioactive it would not produce dangerous waste, according to the European Space Agency.
Rare earth metals - used in
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