SMRTR Science & EngineeringMar 18, 2026Scientific American

There might be less water on the moon than we’d hoped

SMRTR summary

New satellite data from NASA's ShadowCam instrument reveals that water ice in the moon's permanently shadowed polar craters makes up less than 20-30 percent of surface material by weight, with many craters possibly containing no surface ice at all. This finding significantly dampens hopes for abundant lunar water resources that future moon bases and space missions were counting on for drinking water and rocket fuel production.

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