An area straddling two craters at the moon鈥檚 south pole is the perfect location for a lunar base, thanks to a relatively plentiful water supply and gentle slope, researchers have determined.
The south pole has long been considered a good place for settlement because its numerous craters experience both permanent sunlight and shade, making it possible to generate electricity using solar panels while also having ice to mine for water. The areas around some of these craters have been explored by lunar rovers, like India鈥檚 recent Chandrayaan-3 mission, but their purpose has been to gather scientific data rather than look for a base location.
There have been some proposals for specific settlement spots based on the amount of sunlight they get, such as at Malapert Massif, which is in a crater at the edge of the south pole, or the Shackleton crater, but crucial information on how much ice and other resources are available wasn鈥檛 included.
Advertisement
鈥淣ow, we have a place,鈥� says at the University of Atacama in Chile. Leone and his team gathered all the existing data on the distribution of water ice, slope angles and the amount of sunlight that falls on five of the moon鈥檚 southern craters and ranked them. They then decided on a list of the most important criteria, such as the density of icy water and carbon dioxide, potential power sources, ease of access and communication links with Earth.
Top of the list was a region of around 5 square kilometres that straddles two craters, known collectively as Sverdrup-Henson. It has a relatively flat surface, making building and travelling easier, as well as more ice and minerals in nearby shaded areas. There are also areas of permanent sunlight, for power generation, and spots for communication links to Earth. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a trade-off between the water within reach and, at the same time, the base must be in light to have some energy,鈥� says Leone.
One unique factor that the Sverdrup-Henson site has is its ease of access, compared with other craters with high rims. 鈥淭here is a possibility to expand all around, given that there is direct access in and out of these [Sverdrup-Henson] craters,鈥� says Leone.
There is still some uncertainty in the data on the craters, says Leone, and it is unclear whether there will be enough water even in these areas that are relatively rich in water ice.
The work takes into account a good amount of data and is relatively up-to-date, says at the Open University, UK, but much of the data used is from remote instruments and might not be fully accurate. 鈥淭here are lots of ideas for where to build a lunar base. I think the real answers will come when we get more ground truth measurements about all these parameters,鈥� says Barber.
Upcoming missions on the moon鈥檚 surface, like NASA鈥檚 VIPER robot, which is due to land next year, should tell us more about the distribution of resources like water and carbon dioxide. They can also discover how difficult different regions are to drive around in, which might end up favouring some over others, says Barber.
iScience
