Russia, U.S. race to the moon

MOSCOW, May 1 (UPI) -- The United States and Russia appear to be in a new race to the moon, and an isotope under the lunar surface may be the prize.

Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported that Russia claims its efforts to cooperate with the U.S. National Air and Space Administration's efforts to explore the moon have been rejected.

"We are ready to cooperate, but for some reason the United States has announced that it will carry out the program itself," Anatoly Perminov, the head of Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos told the Telegraph. "Strange as it is, the United States is short of experts to implement the program."

NASA has announced it plans to build an international base on the moon and staff it by 2024. The Russian rocket manufacturer Energia said it would build a moon base by 2015, the report said.

Russian officials have said the lunar program is aimed at the industrial extraction of helium-3, an isotope fuel for nuclear fusion that some believe could replace fossil fuels.

The Telegraph said there is suspicion in Moscow that Washington wants to monopolize the moon's helium-3 supply.