History of lunar water

20th century
Apollo Program

The possibility of ice in the floors of polar lunar craters was first suggested in 1961 by Caltech researchers Kenneth
Watson, Bruce C. Murray, and Harrison Brown.[15] Although trace amounts of water were found in lunar rock samples
collected by Apollo astronauts, this was assumed to be a result of contamination, and the majority of the lunar surface
was generally assumed to be completely dry.[16] However, a 2008 study of lunar rock samples revealed evidence of
water molecules trapped in volcanic glass beads. [17]
The first direct evidence of water vapor near the Moon was obtained by the Apollo 14 ALSEP Suprathermal Ion Detector
Experiment, SIDE, on March 7, 1971. A series of bursts of water vapor ions were observed by the instrument mass
spectrometer at the lunar surface near the Apollo 14 landing site. [18]
Luna 24

In February 1978 Soviet scientists M. Akhmanova, B. Dement'ev, and M. Markov of the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry
and Analytical Chemistry published a paper claiming a detection of water fairly definitively. [6][7] Their study showed that the
samples returned to Earth by the 1976 Soviet probe Luna 24 contained about 0.1% water by mass, as seen in infrared
absorption spectroscopy (at about 3 μm (0.00012 in) wavelength), at a detection level about 10 times above the
threshold.[citation needed]
Clementine

Composite image of the Moon's south polar region, captured by NASA's Clementine probe over two lunar days.
Permanently shadowed areas could harbour water ice.

A proposed evidence of water ice on the Moon came in 1994 from the United States military Clementine probe. In an
investigation known as the 'bistatic radar experiment', Clementine used its transmitter to beam radio waves into the dark
regions of the south pole of the Moon.[19] Echoes of these waves were detected by the large dish antennas of the Deep
Space Network on Earth. The magnitude and polarisation of these echoes was consistent with an icy rather than rocky
surface, but the results were inconclusive, [20] and their significance has been questioned.[21][22] Earth-based radar
measurements were used to identify the areas that are in permanent shadow and hence have the potential to harbour
lunar ice: Estimates of the total extent of shadowed areas poleward of 87.5 degrees latitude are 1,030 and 2,550 square
kilometres (400 and 980 sq mi) for the north and south poles, respectively.[23] Subsequent computer simulations
encompassing additional terrain suggested that an area up to 14,000 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi) might be in
permanent shadow.[24]
Lunar Prospector

The Lunar Prospector probe, launched in 1998, employed a neutron spectrometer to measure the amount of hydrogen in the
lunar regolith near the polar regions.[25] It was able to determine hydrogen abundance and location to within 50 parts per
million and detected enhanced hydrogen concentrations at the lunar north and south poles. These were interpreted as
indicating significant amounts of water ice trapped in permanently shadowed craters, [26] but could also be due to the
presence of the hydroxyl radical (•OH) chemically bound to minerals. Based on data from Clementine and Lunar
Prospector, NASA scientists have estimated that, if surface water ice is present, the total quantity could be of the order
of 1–3 cubic kilometres (0.24–0.72 cu mi).[27][28] In July 1999, at the end of its mission, the Lunar Prospector probe
was deliberately crashed into Shoemaker crater, near the Moon's south pole, in the hope that detectable quantities of water
would be liberated. However, spectroscopic observations from ground-based telescopes did not reveal the spectral
signature of water.[29]
 Cassini–Huygens

More suspicions about the existence of water on the Moon were generated by inconclusive data produced by Cassini–
Huygens mission,[30] which passed the Moon in 1999.[citation needed]

21st centuryEdit
Deep Impact

In 2005, observations of the Moon by the Deep Impact spacecraft produced inconclusive spectroscopic data suggestive of
water on the Moon. In 2006, observations with the Arecibo planetary radar showed that some of the near-
polar Clementine radar returns, previously claimed to be indicative of ice, might instead be associated with rocks
ejected from young craters. If true, this would indicate that the neutron results from Lunar Prospector were primarily
from hydrogen in forms other than ice, such as trapped hydrogen molecules or organics. Nevertheless, the
interpretation of the Arecibo data do not exclude the possibility of water ice in permanently shadowed craters. [31] In
June 2009, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, now redesignated EPOXI, made further confirmatory bound hydrogen
measurements during another lunar flyby.[16]
Kaguya

As part of its lunar mapping programme, Japan's Kaguya probe, launched in September 2007 for a 19-month mission,
carried out gamma ray spectrometry observations from orbit that can measure the abundances of various elements on the
Moon's surface.[32] Japan's Kaguya probe's high resolution imaging sensors failed to detect any signs of water ice in
permanently shaded craters around the south pole of the Moon, [33] and it ended its mission by crashing into the lunar
surface in order to study the ejecta plume content. [34][needs update]
Chang'e 1

The People's Republic of China's Chang'e 1 orbiter, launched in October 2007, took the first detailed photographs of
some polar areas where ice water is likely to be found. [35][needs update]
Chandrayaan-1

Direct evidence of lunar water in the Moon atmosphere obtained by the Chandrayaan-1's Altitudinal Composition
(CHACE) output profile
Image of the Moon taken by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper. Blue shows the spectral signature of hydroxide, green shows
the brightness of the surface as measured by reflected infrared radiation from the Sun and red shows a mineral
called pyroxene.

India's ISRO spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 released the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) that impacted Shackleton Crater, of the lunar south
pole, at 20:31 on 14 November 2008 releasing subsurface debris that was analysed for presence of water ice. During
its 25-minute descent, the impact probe's Chandra's Altitudinal Composition Explorer (CHACE) recorded evidence of
water in 650 mass spectra gathered in the thin atmosphere above the Moon's surface and hydroxyl absorption lines in
reflected sunlight.[36][37]
On September 25, 2009, NASA declared that data sent from its M 3 confirmed the existence of hydrogen over large
areas of the Moon's surface,[30] albeit in low concentrations and in the form of hydroxyl group ( · OH) chemically
bound to soil.[9][38][39] This supports earlier evidence from spectrometers aboard the Deep Impact and Cassini probes.[16]
[40][41] On the Moon, the feature is seen as a widely distributed absorption that appears strongest at cooler high
latitudes and at several fresh feldspathic craters. The general lack of correlation of this feature in sunlit M 3 data with
neutron spectrometer H abundance data suggests that the formation and retention of OH and H 2O is an ongoing
surficial process. OH/H2O production processes may feed polar cold traps and make the lunar regolith a candidate
source of volatiles for human exploration.[citation needed]
Although M3 results are consistent with recent findings of other NASA instruments onboard Chandrayaan-1, the
discovered water molecules in the Moon's polar regions is not consistent with the presence of thick deposits of nearly
pure water ice within a few meters of the lunar surface, but it does not rule out the presence of small (< ∼10  cm
(3.9 in)), discrete pieces of ice mixed in with the regolith. [42] Additional analysis with M3 published in 2018 had
provided more direct evidence of water ice near the surface within 20° latitude of both poles. In addition to observing
reflected light from the surface, scientists used M 3's near-infrared absorption capabilities in the permanently shadowed
areas of the polar regions to find absorption spectra consistent with ice. At the north pole region, the water ice is
scattered in patches, while it is more concentrated in a single body around the south pole. Because these polar regions
do not experience the high temperatures (greater than 373 Kelvin), it was postulated that the poles act as cold traps where
vaporized water is collected on the Moon.[43][44]
In March 2010, it was reported that the Mini-SAR on board Chandrayaan-1 had discovered more than 40 permanently
darkened craters near the Moon's north pole that are hypothesized to contain an estimated 600 million metric tonnes of
water-ice.[45][46] The radar's high CPR is not uniquely diagnostic of either roughness or ice; the science team must
take into account the environment of the occurrences of high CPR signal to interpret its cause. The ice must be
relatively pure and at least a couple of meters thick to give this signature. [46] The estimated amount of water ice
potentially present is comparable to the quantity estimated from the previous mission of Lunar Prospector's neutron data.
[46]
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter | Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite

Play media
Video generated from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images showing areas of permanent shadow. Realistic
shadows evolve through several months.

On October 9, 2009, the Centaur upper stage of its Atlas V carrier rocket was directed to impact Cabeus crater at 11:31 UTC,
followed shortly by the NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft that flew through the ejecta
plume.[47]LCROSS detected a significant amount of hydroxyl group in the material thrown up from a south polar crater
by an impactor;[48][49] this may be attributed to water-bearing materials – what appears to be "near pure crystalline
water-ice" mixed in the regolith.[45][49][50] What was actually detected was the chemical group hydroxyl ( · OH),
which is suspected to be from water,[4] but could also be hydrates, which are inorganic salts containing chemically-
bound water molecules. The nature, concentration and distribution of this material requires further analysis; [49] chief
mission scientist Anthony Colaprete has stated that the ejecta appears to include a range of fine-grained particulates of
near pure crystalline water-ice.[45] A later definitive analysis found the concentration of water to be "5.6 ± 2.9% by
mass".[51]
The Mini-RF instrument on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) observed the plume of debris from the impact of the
LCROSS orbiter, and it was concluded that the water ice must be in the form of small (< ~10 cm), discrete pieces of
ice distributed throughout the regolith, or as thin coating on ice grains. [52] This, coupled with monostatic radar
observations, suggest that the water ice present in the permanently shadowed regions of lunar polar craters is unlikely
to be present in the form of thick, pure ice deposits. [52][53][54]
The data acquired by the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) instrument onboard LRO show several regions
where the epithermal neutron flux from the surface is suppressed, which is indicative of enhanced hydrogen content.
[55] Further analysis of LEND data suggests that water content in the polar regions is not directly determined by the
illumination conditions of the surface, as illuminated and shadowed regions do not manifest any significant difference
in the estimated water content.[56] According to the observations by this instrument alone, "the permanent low surface
temperature of the cold traps is not a necessary and sufficient condition for enhancement of water content in the
regolith."[56]
LRO laser altimeter's examination of the Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole suggests up to 22% of the surface of that
crater is covered in ice.[57]
Melt inclusions in Apollo 17 samples

In May 2011, Erik Hauri et al. reported[58] 615-1410 ppm water in melt inclusions in lunar sample 74220, the famous
high-titanium "orange glass soil" of volcanic origin collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The inclusions were
formed during explosive eruptions on the Moon approximately 3.7 billion years ago.[citation needed]
This concentration is comparable with that of magma in Earth's upper mantle. While of considerable selenological
interest, this announcement affords little comfort to would-be lunar colonists. The sample originated many kilometers
below the surface, and the inclusions are so difficult to access that it took 39 years to detect them with a state-of-the-
art ion microprobe instrument.[citation needed]
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

In October 2020, astronomers reported detecting molecular water on the sunlit surface of the Moon by several independent
scientific teams, including the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).[59][60] The estimated abundance is about
100 to 400 ppm, with a distribution over a small latitude range, likely a result of local geology and not a global
phenomenon. It was suggested that the detected water is stored within glasses or in voids between grains sheltered
from the harsh lunar environment, thus allowing the water to remain on the lunar surface. [61] Using data from the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter, it was shown that besides the large, permanently shadowed regions in the Moon’s polar regions,
there are many unmapped cold traps, substantially augmenting the areas where ice may accumulate. Approximately
10–20% of the permanent cold-trap area for water is found to be contained in "micro cold traps" found in shadows on
scales from 1 km to 1 cm, for a total area of ~40,000 km2, about 60% of which is in the South, and a majority of cold
traps for water ice are found at latitudes >80° due to permanent shadows.X