This study comprehensively reviews the distribution characteristics of lunar water, oxygen, mineral resources, and helium-3, and evaluates their potential for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) from a geological perspective.Based on this assessment, it aims to identify key resource, process, and energy factors that should be considered in the selection of landing sites for the future Korean lunar lander mission.By integrating analyses of Apollo samples with recent orbital remote-sensing data and landing mission results, we show that lunar water exists not only as ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the poles, but also in various forms such as OH/H 2 O in low-to mid-latitude regolith.In contrast, oxygen is abundantly bound within oxides and silicate minerals in the lunar regolith; however, its extraction requires high-temperature and energy-intensive processes, including hydrogen reduction, carbothermal reduction, molten regolith electrolysis, and molten salt electrolysis.Through quantitative comparisons of oxygen production efficiency as a function of iron and titanium content, we demonstrate that local mineral composition critically influences process selection and the required scale of power infrastructure at potential landing sites.From a mineral-resource perspective, compositional differences between lunar mare and highland terrains are examined, with particular emphasis on the distribution of high-Ti basalts and KREEP-enriched regions.The potential for co-production of metals and oxygen, the use of regolith as a construction and manufacturing materials, and the strategic significance of rare earth elements are evaluated.However, currently reported average concentrations of rare earth and radioactive elements remain lower than those found in economically viable terrestrial deposits, suggesting that early-stage strategies should prioritize science-driven exploration integrated with resource assessment.Helium-3, an externally accumulated resource derived from the solar wind, shows strong correlations with titanium content and regolith maturity, but its extremely low concentration implies that large-scale, energy-intensive thermal desorption systems would be required for economically meaningful extraction.Overall, this review emphasizes that geological evaluations that integrate spatial heterogeneity of resource distribution with process-specific mass and energy requirements are essential for advancing lunar ISRU research.It further highlights the need for a landing-site selection strategy for the 2032 Korean lunar mission that simultaneously considers scientific value and long-term ISRU expansion potential.
Y J Kim (Tue,) studied this question.