In a new study, scientists bring hope for finding more water ice in the polar craters of the Moon. Additionally, the study reveals that there’s twice as much water ice in the northern polar region compared to the southern polar region.
The study, conducted by scientists from the Space Applications Centre (SAC)/ISRO, along with researchers from IIT Kanpur, University of Southern California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, indicates that there could be 5 to 8 times more subsurface ice in the first couple of meters compared to what’s on the surface, in both the northern and southern poles, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a blogpost. This finding underscores the importance of drilling on the Moon to extract or study this ice for future missions and potential long-term human presence.
Regarding the ice’s origin, the study supports the theory that the main source of subsurface water ice in the lunar poles is the release of gases during volcanic activity in the Imbrian period.
The findings also suggest that the distribution of water ice is probably influenced by volcanic activity in the Mare regions and specific impact crater formations. The research team used seven instruments, including radar, laser, optical, neutron spectrometer, ultraviolet spectrometer, and thermal radiometer, aboard National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to investigate the origin and distribution of water ice on the Moon.
Accurate knowledge of the distribution and depth of water ice occurrence in the lunar poles, as presented in the investigations, is crucial for constraining the uncertainties in selecting future landing and sampling sites for missions aimed at exploring and characterising lunar volatiles, ISRO said.