The researchers found that the largest water reserves are found in relief features that keep it away from sunlight and in the cold areas of the satellite.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Ernie Wright
International astronomers have created the first detailed wide-area map of the distribution of water on the Moon. The scientists used data obtained by the joint project of NASA and the German Space Agency called the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), withdrawn since last year. The study provides clues regarding how water may move across the Moon’s surface, particularly near its south pole, an important area for space exploration.
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The map covers approximately 25% of the Earth-facing side of the lunar surface as far as the south pole. The researchers found that the largest water reserves are found in relief features that keep it away from sunlight and in the cold areas of the satellite.
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“By looking at the water data, we can see the edges of the craters, we see the individual mountains, and we can even see the differences between the sides of the mountains during the day and at night, thanks to the higher concentration of water in these places,” commented Bill Reach, SOFIA project manager at NASA Ames Research Center and lead author of the study.
“With this SOFIA data map and others to come, we are looking at how water is concentrated under different lunar environmental conditions,” explained Casey Honniball, a NASA researcher who was involved in the work. “This map will provide valuable information for the Artemis program,” she added. “Our common Apollo-era knowledge that the Moon is completely dry was wrong,” said Paul Lucey, a professor at the University of Hawaii and co-author of the research.
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