Photos show no ice in moon craters

Plans by scientists for astronauts to use water found on the moon to establish colonies human outposts have been put on ice because there is none. New high-resolution radar images of the moon showed no evidence that ice exists in craters at the lunar South Pole.

Theorists have suggested since the 1960s that these "cold traps" might contain deposits of water ice. The theory was gained favor in 1992 when Earth-based radar telescopes located "ice deposits" inside impact craters at the poles of Mercury, the planet nearest the sun.

"These new results do not preclude ice being present as small grains in the lunar soil based on the Lunar Prospector's discovery of enhanced hydrogen concentrations at the lunar poles," said Donald Campbell, a Cornell University professor of astronomy and a principal investigator of the study.

"There is always the possibility that concentrated deposits exist in a few of the shadowed locations not visible to radars on Earth," he added, "but any current planning for landers or bases at the lunar poles should not count on this."

The Lunar Prospector orbiter discovered concentrations of hydrogen at the lunar poles in 1999. If this hydrogen were in the form of water molecules, which is still being debated, then it would correspond to an average of 1 to 2 percent of water ice in the lunar soil in the shadowed terrain.

Since water ice can be converted to oxygen, drinkable water or even rocket fuel, it would be a valuable resource for any future lunar base. Because of this high value, NASA's 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will crash two vehicles onto the moon to search for water ice at the South Pole. Enditem

Source:Xinhua/Agencies