Unveiling the Youthful Secrets of Lunar Permanently Shadowed Areas

A study led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Norbert Schorghofer reveals that most of the moon's permanently shadowed areas, which are crucial for lunar exploration and the search for water ice, formed less than 2.2 billion years ago. The research suggests that ancient water ice reservoirs are no longer expected on the moon, and any ice in the polar regions today must have a more recent origin. The study also explains why the polar regions of Mercury have more ice than the moon, as Mercury's permanently shadowed regions are much older and could have captured water early on.