Long-Held View of a Dry Moon
For many decades, researchers on Earth examined extensive collections of lunar rocks returned by missions. The resulting consensus portrayed the moon as essentially devoid of water, with only trace amounts of moisture thought to be present.
- NASA's LCROSS mission provided new data in 2009
- Evidence pointed to water ice in permanently shadowed polar zones
- The earlier canonical model treated the moon as anhydrous
Shift Following 2009 Measurements
This established scientific picture began to shift in 2009. During that year, sensors aboard the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, operated by the United States space agency, recorded findings indicating water ice within the permanently shaded regions near the lunar poles, known as PSRs.
The detection was widely regarded as a notable reversal of prior assumptions. Current assessment suggests that much of the moon's water likely stays chemically bound in the deep subsurface instead of being concentrated in surface deposits.