The moon’s north and south poles are always at dusk, and the sunken areas of these regions receive no direct sunlight.
NASA hopes astronauts will explore the South Pole of the Moon as early as 2025. If the frozen water found there could be excavated and collected, it would be an important resource for human explorers. Scientists say something as basic as H2O can be converted into oxygen, drinking water, and fuel.
But studying these permanently shadowed craters from space presents distinct challenges. How do you map terrain details in the dark?
Through a partnership with South Korea, NASA is now obtaining bright and detailed images of potential landing sites. South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft, which launched last summer, has been orbiting the Moon since December 2022.(opens in new tab)The Orbiter’s camera was specifically designed to take ultra-sensitive pictures of the environment.
NASA is back in business on the moon. This is what it means.
ShadowCam is 200 times more sensitive to light than its predecessor on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credits: NASA / KARI / Arizona State University illustration
so-called shadow cam(opens in new tab)NASA-funded is 200 times more sensitive to light than previous technology on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter(opens in new tab)Even without direct sunlight, the device can capture dimly reflected light from nearby mountains and crater rims. Arizona State University and Marine Space Science Systems developed the camera.
Is there ice on the moon?
ShadowCam is searching for ice and taking pictures to help mission planners survey potential sediment-rich areas. Scientists study seasonal changes and make measurements in the darkened moon craters.
Jason Cruzan, former director of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems, said in a 2017 statement, “The ability to harvest the lunar resources will make future missions in deep space safer and more affordable. sho,” he said.(opens in new tab)“ShadowCam has the potential to significantly improve our understanding of the quality and abundance of resources in these regions.”
Engineers attach ShadowCam to the lunar orbiter.
Credit: KARI
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The photos should ultimately help NASA narrow down where to drill. In August 2022, the agency announced 13 potential Antarctic landing sites for the Artemis III mission, the first to put astronauts on the moon in half a century. During their nearly week-long stay on the moon, astronauts, including the first woman to walk on the moon and the first man of color, collected samples to take home for analysis.
After Danuri arrived on the Moon, it began taking test photos for alignment.I recently took a photo of the lunar depression known as Shackleton Crater(opens in new tab)The image is so bright that the team can see details like a 16-foot-wide rock trail that slid down the steep crater wall and fell to the floor.
NASA compares the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera to the new ShadowCam.
Credit: NASA / KARI / Arizona State University
Shadowcam has been proven to actually see better in the dark than NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter cameras. A side-by-side comparison (top) shows how the new camera (right) captures the interior of the crater.
This crater is relatively small, so temperatures get a little too hot to keep the ice stable in the summer, above minus 261 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a recent Arizona post.(opens in new tab) in a project.
“This area is not the most likely to experience frost or ice on the surface,” the post said. “Maybe ice or frost is waiting to be seen elsewhere in this crater where temperatures are cooler.”
