Small Craters May Offer Variety Of Landing Sites For Lunar Water Ice Exploration

LRO Data Indicates ~10-20% Of PSRs Sufficiently Cool (<110 K) To Allow Ice Formation Are Depressions Casting 1-cm – 1-km Shadows, Widely Dispersed Across Moon Polar Regions (>80° Latitude); Inclusion Of “Mini Cold Traps” In Study By UC Boulder / PSI Researchers Suggests Total Possible Lunar Ice Containing Area Is ~40,000 km² (23,000 km² Within <20° Moon South Pole, 17,000 km² Within <20° Moon North Pole); Total PSRs Comprise Just 0.15% Of Total Surface Area; Relatively Small Cold Traps May Offer More Favorable Mission Parameters Than Large Craters

 Pictured: Paul Hayne, Oded Aharonson, Norbert Schorghofer; Credits: NASA, PSI, UC Boulder, Weizmann Institute of Science, SOEST