The presence of ice on the moon becomes an important resource at the base of the future moon, as it can be used to support humans or to break down into hydrogen and oxygen, the main components of rocket fuel.
Therefore, scientists and space explorers have long hunted to determine where the ice is on the moon and how much ice is present.
Currently, researchers at the University of Hawaii in Manoa are using two innovative approaches to advance searching for lunar ice.
Shadowcam looks for surface ice on the moon
The lunar water ice was previously detected in permanently covered areas of the Arctic and Antarctic by Shuai Li, an assistant researcher at the Hawaii Geophysics Institute (HIGP) at UH Manoa School of Marine Science and Technology (SOest).
The new study, led by Jordan &, a graduate student in Planetary Science at Li’s lab, looked at images of Shadowcam, a specialized camera riding a Korean moon pathfinder orbiter at the Korea Aerospace Institute.
Although craters on the moon’s polar regions do not receive direct sunlight, sunlight that bounces off one side of the crater can indirectly illuminate the other side. The Shadowcam is specially designed to only see dark, permanently covered areas of the moon, and is extremely sensitive to indirect light reflected from the moon.
Ando said: “Ice generally brightens, meaning it reflects something lighter than rocks. We analyze high-quality images from this sensitive camera to really look into these permanently shady areas and see if water ice in these areas becomes broadly bright on the surface.”
Although ice in shaded areas did not brighten the surface significantly, team analysis of shadow cam images can help improve estimates of the amount of lunar ice that may be present on the surface.
Li’s previous methods suggest that the lunar surface contains 5% to 30% water ice. Analysis of shadow cam images narrows the scope and shows that water ice accounts for less than 20% of the lunar surface.
Cosmic rays help you explore buried ice
In addition to these investigations of lunar ice on the surface, another group of UHMānoa researchers with HIGP and a group from the Ministry of Physics and Astronomy have recently published a study in a geophysical research letter outlining an innovative approach to detecting ice buried in the moon poles.
“Recent research has shown that new technologies are possible to detect water ice embedded in the moon using naturally occurring cosmic rays,” explained Emily Costello, a postdoctoral researcher at HIGP.
“These ultra-high energy cosmic rays collide with the moon and penetrate the layers below. The rays emit radar waves that bounce back through the buried layers of ice and rock.
The team used advanced computer simulations to test how radar waves pass through the lunar soil and how they encode information about buried layers of lunar ice.
“The researchers have a great opportunity to share their findings with the latest Moon and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas,” said Christian Tai Udovicci, co-author of the study, which presented the findings at the recent Moon and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas.
“Even planetary scientists studying how to find water ice on the moon are often surprised when they hear this technique, as they rely on high energy physics, where only a few scientists around the world are experts.”
Space Exploration Hub
A team of HIGP and Physics researchers are working on assembling radar equipment specifically tailored to hear these signals on the moon, and hopes to test the entire system by early 2026.
They look for an opportunity to send it to the moon and hope to detect the first large deposits of water ice buried in the moon.
Costello concluded: “Increasingly, Hawaii is becoming a hub for space exploration, particularly the lunar exploration.
“Trained by UHMānoa scientists, these projects represent promising opportunities for Hawaiian students and experts to lead and participate in the up-and-coming space industry.”
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