On Aug. 23, 2023, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down close to the moon’s south pole, setting in motion an initial 14-day research mission during which a rover named Pragyan will explore our largest satellite.
Slipping between the boulders of the rocky south pole was no small task, though most of the world’s major space agencies are trying to do it. Just a few days before India’s touchdown, a Russian probe crashed into the moon, not far from Chandrayaan-3’s landing spot.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, the China National Space Administration and NASA are gearing up for major unmanned expeditions to the lunar south pole, which has one of the largest supplies of water ice on the moon.
All these world powers want to be the first to discover water ice on the satellite in situ – in its original state – and not as a result of orbital data. With access to water, future moon colonists could slake their thirst or break the molecules down into hydrogen (rocket fuel) and oxygen (good for rocket fuel or breathing).
