All articles tagged with #permanently shadowed regions
A European concept named PHILIP would power a 250 kg lunar rover with a 500-watt infrared laser from a sunlit lander up to 15 km away, enabling operation in the Moon’s permanently shadowed, ice-rich regions by converting the laser into electricity with modified solar panels; the system also enables two-way data via a modulated retro-reflector, with field tests in Tenerife and plans for prototyping under ESA funding.
NASA's Artemis 3 mission aims to land a human crew near the lunar south pole, which is home to permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) that may contain extractable ice. However, some suggest placing a moratorium on up-close inspection of PSRs to preserve them as a "paleo-cosmic tape recorder." Recent studies have identified areas of interest within the Artemis 3 candidate landing sites that might be hiding water ice that could be used by future human crews on the moon's surface. Lunar mining is likely to be one of the first major tests of space property rights, and it remains to be seen whether international treaties and national laws will guide us towards cooperation, competition, or conflict over limited resources like ice on the moon.