Recent findings from Indian researchers suggest the presence of frozen water just beneath the Moon’s surface, even in sunlit areas. Analyzing data from the ‘Chandrayaan-3’ mission, the team discovered unexpected temperature variations, indicating that ice may exist at shallow depths near the lunar poles. These insights could facilitate future lunar missions, including NASA’s ‘Artemis’ program, by revealing easier extraction methods for water, previously thought to be confined to shadowed craters.
New Discoveries Suggest Frozen Water Beneath the Moon’s Surface
Exciting revelations from Indian researchers indicate that water may be hiding just beneath the Moon’s surface, potentially freezing even in areas exposed to sunlight. These findings could play a vital role in supporting future manned lunar missions.
According to the research team, led by Durga Prasad from the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, frozen water might be found at depths as shallow as ten centimeters in various regions of the Moon’s poles. This conclusion was drawn from data analyzed from the lunar lander ‘Chandrayaan-3’, which reported unexpected temperature variations in the Moon’s soil, as detailed in the journal ‘Communications Earth & Environment’.
Exploring Lunar Craters and Temperature Variations
The ‘Vikram’ lander from ‘Chandrayaan-3’ successfully touched down on August 23, 2023, at the southern polar region of the Moon. This mission included the ChaSTE experiment, which conducted temperature measurements in the lunar soil’s upper layers for the first time since the Apollo missions of the 1970s.
With this achievement, India joined the ranks of only three other countries that have successfully landed on the Moon.
Surprising Temperature Findings Beneath the Surface
Upon analyzing the data, the Indian team was surprised to discover that the maximum temperature in the lunar soil reached 82 degrees Celsius at a depth of ten centimeters—24 degrees higher than previously anticipated based on Apollo data. In contrast, a measurement taken just one meter away recorded a daytime maximum that was 23 degrees cooler, leading to unexpected small-scale temperature fluctuations.
The researchers attributed this discrepancy to the tilt of the lunar surface; the location of the higher temperature measurement was angled six degrees toward the sun, allowing for greater warming.
Potential for Ice and Future Lunar Missions
The inclination of the lunar soil appears to be a significant factor affecting temperatures just below the surface, prompting the researchers to create a model to predict temperature variations based on ground tilt. Their calculations revealed that a mere 14-degree incline toward the sun in polar regions could maintain temperatures below freezing at a depth of ten centimeters, suggesting the possibility of ice preservation.
Moreover, the presence of frozen water is not limited to permanently shadowed craters, as previously thought; it could also be found just beneath the surface in many regions with the right inclination, making extraction much easier. This discovery bodes well for upcoming ‘Artemis’ missions, which aim to land astronauts in the Moon’s southern polar region in the coming years.
This topic was reported by Deutschlandfunk on March 9, 2025, at 10:09 AM.