A UK-US mission, Lunar Trailblazer, will be launched on Thursday, sending a probe to the moon’s surface to map its water resources. The two-year mission aims to reveal how much water exists near the lunar surface and where it is located.
Scientists believe that water on the moon could play a key role in establishing staffed colonies, with power provided by solar panels turning water into hydrogen and oxygen. These elements would be used as fuel for spacecraft and allow astronauts to breathe.
Recently discovered evidence suggests that water, mainly in the form of ice, exists in large amounts in some lunar craters, particularly at the south pole. The Lunar Trailblazer probe has been designed to map out water on the moon’s surface using two instruments: an infrared scanner and a thermal mapper.
The mission will test two main scenarios for how water reached the moon: comets or meteorites delivering it, or reactions in lunar soil forming thin layers of water. By understanding how water behaves on the moon, scientists hope to gain insights into the potential for life elsewhere in our solar system.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/feb/22/space-mission-aims-to-map-water-on-surface-of-the-moon