From BBC News.

Nasa’s Artemis II rocket is headed towards the Moon, after a successful launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The mission — which will see the Orion spacecraft travel around the Moon and back to Earth — brings the US one step closer to its goal of landing on the lunar surface in 2028.

President Donald Trump has declared it a victory for the US, writing on social media that America is "winning in space, on Earth, and everywhere in between — economically, militarily, and now, beyond the stars".

The president has championed space exploration since his first term in the White House, supporting long-term plans to send humans to Mars.

But why is President Trump so keen to put astronauts back on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years?

The BBC’s science reporter Esme Stallard tells us about the rare earths and other valuable resources that could be found on the Moon — and the race between the US and China to get them first.

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