NYT told why the new moon race began.

The new moon race began because the United States, China and other countries became interested in the moon as a source of ice and helium.‑3. This was reported on April 5 by The New York Times (NYT).

"Now a new moon race has begun: the United States wants to return people to the moon by 2028, two years ahead of China. But their goals are somewhat different<... There is water at the lunar poles, frozen in the eternal shadow of craters," the article says.

The publication notes that today space agents are more interested in the poles of the moon and its reverse side, which is not visible from earth. The main resource at the poles is ice, which can provide drinking water, rocket fuel, oxygen and helium-3. The newspaper emphasizes that the latter substance is very rare on Earth.

Orion's Humanity: How the Artemis II mission will affect the Russian lunar program

And which technologies will be key in the new space race?

The Artemis II mission launched on April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The next day, the crew members successfully entered the trajectory to the moon. Within 10 days, Artemis II astronauts will circle the Earth twice before circling the moon and returning.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.