science27 days ago
Lunar Water Scarcity May Cap Moon Colonies at Small-Scale Outposts
A new study in Frontiers in Space Technology argues that large-scale human settlements on the Moon are likely impossible due to severe water limitations. Researchers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell calculate that even with 98% water recycling efficiency, a colony of one million people would exhaust the Moon's estimated one billion tons of water ice within a century. While power generation via solar or nuclear means is feasible, water is the critical bottleneck. The study suggests that without discovering massive new subsurface water deposits or achieving a tenfold improvement in recycling efficiency, lunar habitation will remain limited to small scientific or military outposts rather than large cities.