India’s space agency is trying to land a craft on the moon’s south pole, a mission that could boost the country’s space ambitions and expand knowledge of the moon’s water ice, which could prove to be one of Earth’s satellite’s most valuable resources .

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Here’s what’s known about the presence of frozen water on the moon, and why space agencies and private companies see it as a key to establishing a lunar colony, mining the moon’s resources and potential missions to Mars.

India’s long-awaited lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 was scheduled for July 14, 2023. The Soviet Union, the United States, and China are the only three countries to have successfully performed soft landings on the Moon.

The Russian spacecraft „Luna-25“ crashed into the moon

How do scientists discover water on the moon?

Back in the 1960s, before the first landing of the American Apollo space mission, scientists suggested that there might be water on the moon. Samples from the mission crews that were returned for analysis in the late 1960s and early 1970s appeared dry.

In 2008, Brown University researchers reexamined these samples with new technology and found the presence of hydrogen in small particles of volcanic glass.

In 2009, a NASA instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 probe detected water on the surface of the Moon.

That same year, another NASA probe that reached the south pole found water beneath the lunar surface. A previous mission called Lunar Prospector in 1998 found evidence that the shadowy craters at the moon’s south pole have the greatest concentration of water ice.

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Why is water on the moon important?

Scientists are interested in the „pockets“ of ancient water ice because they could provide clues about lunar volcanoes, the materials that comets and asteroids bring to Earth, and the origins of the oceans.

If water ice exists in sufficient quantities, it could be a source of potable water for lunar exploration and for cooling the equipment used.

It can also be broken down to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for breathing to support missions to Mars and mining resources on the Moon.

The UN’s 1967 „Outer Space Treaty“ prohibits any nation from claiming ownership of the Moon. However, there is no provision in it that prohibits commercial activities.

The Artemis Accords, with the United States as the main initiator, provide for the establishment of a set of principles for the exploration of the Moon and the use of its resources, which have so far been signed by 27 countries. China and Russia are not among them.

Why is reaching the South Pole of the Moon particularly difficult?

There have also been failed attempts to land on the moon in the past. The Russian spacecraft Luna-25 was supposed to land on it this week, but it crashed on Sunday.

The South Pole, which is far from the equatorial region that has been the target of previous missions, including the manned Apollo landings, is dotted with craters and deep depressions.

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is scheduled to land on Wednesday, the Indian space agency announced.

A previous Indian mission failed in 2019 in its attempt to land near the area that Chandrayaan-3 was also targeting.

The US and China also have planned missions to the moon’s south pole.

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