Water ice hidden inside permanently shadowed craters has turned the lunar south pole into the target for space agencies and commercial aerospace firms, according to August 2026 reports.
Topological Configuration and Grazing Solar Light
The south polar region offers exploitable resources because the Sun never fully rises or sets, but rather skims the horizon, explained Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist at NASA.
This creates two distinct zones: one of prolonged illumination, beneficial for solar energy, and another where permanent shadow predominates, which helps conserve water and volatiles.
Cryogenic Freezers and Propellant Production
Water ice trapped inside these craters—where temperatures are 203 degrees Celsius below zero according to NASA—serves critical functions. Beyond human consumption, water can be used to generate oxygen for astronauts to breathe and to generate fuel to continue the journey to other confines of space.
The US space agency has chosen the south pole as the site for its future base on the lunar surface, which according to its plans will feature a nuclear reactor to have constant electricity.
Artemis Program Goals and Planetary Science Archives
Bleacher noted that significant unknowns remain, such as the amount of water in the region, its state, or what other materials might be mixed with it. NASA’s Artemis program, which plans to send two crewed missions to the Moon in 2028, will help resolve these doubts.
Studying the Moon will help understand the history that climate and plate tectonics have erased from our planet. That ice can also reveal the origin of water in the entire inner solar system, added Bleacher.
Extreme Engineering Hurdles and the Road to Mars
These lighting conditions present great challenges, as the lunar night lasts about two weeks on Earth, depending on the area, which creates a harsh environment for astronauts and materials. There are key exploration techniques that need to be perfected before sending astronauts to Mars, and for those missions to be sustainable, astronauts will have to learn to use the available resources to live, said Bleacher.
