NASA, which is preparing to establish a permanent presence on the moon, has discovered deposits of water ice on the moon that are "more extensive than previously thought."
An instrument on the space agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered ice embedded in the lunar surface.
"New findings from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that lunar ice deposits are more widespread than we thought, even beyond the shadowy regions of the south pole! These ice deposits may contain vital resources for future explorers, including water for radiation shielding, air, energy and even rocket fuel!” wrote Nicky Fox, who heads NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Previous lunar explorations have found ice preserved in deep cold craters at or near the moon's south pole—aptly named "permanent repressed regions," or PSRs. This is the main reason why NASA's return to the Moon, called the Artemis program, will land near these craters. This new research, published in the peer-reviewed Planetary Science Journal, found significant ice in more distant craters.
"We find that there is widespread evidence of water ice within the PSR beyond the South Pole, to at least 77 degrees south latitude," said NASA researcher Timothy P. McClanahan, who led the study.
Also shown on the map are the locations of the permanently shadowed areas at the south pole up to 80 degrees south latitude (the literal south pole, located at the rim of Shackleton Crater, is at 90 degrees south latitude).
Much of the ice here and beyond probably resides in craters with cold temperatures below -198°C. Some of these sunken craters haven't seen sunlight for billions of years.
How much water did the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter find beyond the South Pole?
For every square meter of surface with exposed ice, "there should be at least 5 more quarts (about 5 liters) of ice in the top 3.3 feet (1 meter) of the surface compared to the surrounding environment," McClanahan said.
The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector, or LEND, on NASA's satellite locates the ice by pinpointing where there are pockets of frozen hydrogen on or near the surface.
Over the centuries, comets and meteorites that hit the Moon may have carried large amounts of water to its surface. Other sources could be water vapor that naturally seeps from the lunar interior, or chemical reactions between the oxygen in the lunar soil and the relentless solar wind.
When NASA astronauts return to the moon — no earlier than September 2026 — one of their main missions for a week will be to search for ice and collect samples from the surface to bring back to Earth. Ultimately, if the ice is confirmed, this study will pave the way for collecting lunar ice at a lunar base. Of course, without this ice, no one would be able to survive on the moon. | BGNES
