An artist rendering of what a future cosmic ray radar instrument could look like, attached to a satellite orbiting the Moon. (Credit: Christian Miki, Department of Physics, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa)
Researchers from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa are advancing the search for water ice on the Moon, a potential game-changing resource for future lunar missions. Using cutting-edge technology, scientists are working to determine the location and quantity of ice present in the Moon’s permanently shadowed polar regions—areas that never receive direct sunlight.
Water ice on the Moon could play a crucial role in establishing sustainable lunar habitats, providing water for astronauts and a potential source of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel production. This makes the discovery and mapping of lunar ice a top priority for space agencies around the world.
The groundbreaking research, led by graduate student Jordan Ando in the lab of Shuai Li, assistant researcher at the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) within UH Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), leverages data from the ShadowCam—a highly sensitive imaging device aboard the Korea Lunar Pathfinder Orbiter, launched by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.
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Unlike typical cameras, ShadowCam is engineered to capture indirect light reflected within deep lunar craters. While these craters never see direct sunlight, light can scatter from one wall to another, subtly illuminating the shaded interior. This allows ShadowCam to detect signs of frozen water even in the Moon’s darkest, coldest environments.
This latest study builds on Li’s earlier discovery of water ice at both the Moon’s north and south poles, and highlights how advanced lunar imaging technologies are transforming our understanding of the Moon’s hidden resources.
“Ice is generally brighter, that is, reflects more light, than rocks,” said Ando. “We analyzed high-quality images from this sensitive camera to look really closely into these permanently shaded areas and investigate whether water ice in these regions leads to widespread brightening of the surface.”
While the ice in the shaded regions did not significantly brighten the surface, the team’s analysis of the ShadowCam images helps to refine the estimate of the amount of ice that could be on the lunar surface. Li’s previous method suggested that the lunar surface contains between five and 30 percent water ice. The analysis of Shadow Cam images narrows the range—indicating that water ice makes up less than 20 percent of the lunar surface.
