Nasa has identified nine unexplored sites for the first crewed Moon landing in half a century that it says could hold vital resources, including water.

For its Artemis III mission, Nasa has proposed landing regions that warrant further scientific investigation, all located near the lunar south pole.

The Artemis programme was formally established in 2017 and launched its first uncrewed mission in November 2022 using the long-delayed Space Launch System rocket.

Artemis II was originally planned to take place this year and would have been the first scheduled crewed mission since 1972, with four astronauts performing a flyby of the Moon before returning to Earth. This would have been followed by a crewed landing on the Moon for Artemis III in 2025.

Unfortunately, the US Government Accountability Office concluded in late 2023 that neither mission was likely to happen on time, because of multiple challenges with the development of the human landing system and the space suits. Nasa now officially...