Seismic clues reveal buried lunar ice for future moon bases
A new Science Advances study shows that buried water ice in the Moon’s permanently shadowed polar regions can be detected with surface seismic surveys: frozen regolith increases P-wave speed, enabling ice mapping down to about 800 meters. Lab experiments with lunar-like regolith and early flight tests underpin this approach, which is slated for real-world testing by China’s Chang’e 7 and NASA’s Artemis missions to locate ice for on-site water and rocket propellant production for future lunar bases.
