Ice at the north pole of the Moon

Last year, India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter spent eight months mapping the surface of the Moon. I had the honor of being the Principal Investigator of an experiment on that mission, the Mini-SAR imaging radar. The purpose of this experiment is to map and characterize the deposits within permanently dark areas of the poles. These dark [...]

Radar mosaic of the floor of the north polar crater Peary, showing many craters with elevated CPR inside, but not outside, their rims. This material is probably water ice.
Last year, India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter spent eight months mapping the surface of the Moon. I had the honor of being the Principal Investigator of an experiment on that mission, the Mini-SAR imaging radar. The purpose of this experiment is to map and characterize the deposits within permanently dark areas of the poles. These dark areas are extremely cold and it has been hypothesized that volatile material, including water ice, may be present in quantity here. Our radar team has just finished the first round of analysis of data returned by the Mini-SAR for the north pole and results will soon be published in the technical journal, Geophysical Research Letters.
Mini-SAR is a lightweight, low ...