May 14, 2024

We Asked a NASA Scientist: Is There Water on the Moon?

The image shows the circulation of surface ice at the Moons south pole (left) and north pole (right), detected by NASAs Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument. Blue represents the ice locations, plotted over an image of the lunar surface area, where the gray scale represents surface temperature (darker representing chillier locations and lighter shades indicating warmer zones). The ice is concentrated at the darkest and coldest places, in the shadows of craters. This was the very first time researchers directly observed conclusive evidence of water ice on the Moons surface area. Credits: NASA
Exists water on the Moon?
In fact, yes. Not like we experience here on Earth. On the Moon, water is discovered all over the surface, but its primarily in the form of ice and not swimming pools of liquid water. Some locations have more water than others. At the poles of the Moon are areas that never receive any sunlight, and so theyre exceptionally cold. We call these completely shadowed regions, and there might be a great deal of ice inside them. The ice inside these regions may be blended in with the lunar soil, buried deep below the surface, or it might be a sheet of ice.
Outside these exceptionally cold locations is much less water, but its still there. Surfaces on the Moon that do see sunshine experience extreme temperature changes of 300 Celsius. This makes it tough for water to endure on the sunlit Moon, but the water that does make it through is unlike any water we experience here in the world.

The image reveals the circulation of surface ice at the Moons south pole (left) and north pole (right), detected by NASAs Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument. On the Moon, water is found all over the surface, however its mainly in the type of ice and not pools of liquid water. The sunlit Moon, nevertheless, has 100 times less water than the Sahara Desert, but the poles of the Moon may contain lots of ice.
You will not find swimming pools of liquid H2O on the lunar surface area– water on the Moon is primarily in the type of ice. Gathering this water is a critical component of future human deep space expedition, which is why our golf cart-sized VIPER, or the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, will be taking a trip to the Moons South Pole to browse for ice and other potential resources to figure out where they came from.

And this is what we observe on the sunlit surface of the Moon. The sunlit Moon, nevertheless, has 100 times less water than the Sahara Desert, however the poles of the Moon might contain heaps of ice.
Is there water on the Moon? Yes. And one day, future astronauts might be able to harvest this water and use it for drinkable water, breathable oxygen or rocket fuel to take us farther out into our planetary system. Harvesting this water is an important element of future human deep area exploration, which is why our VIPER rover will be taking a trip to the Moons South Pole to search for ice and other prospective resources and determine where they originated from.
Is there water on the Moon? You wont find pools of liquid H2O on the lunar surface area– water on the Moon is mainly in the form of ice. Gathering this water is a critical element of future human deep area exploration, which is why our golf cart-sized VIPER, or the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, will be taking a trip to the Moons South Pole to browse for ice and other possible resources to determine where they came from.
We Asked a NASA Expert Video Series