Future managed missions per month can be less dependent on deliveries from the ground, as it will be easier to extract water from lunar ice than it was expected. New data obtained by the Chandraian-3 Indian probe show that water ice lies shallowly and can be relatively easy to astronauts.
About it reports Space with reference to research published in Communications Earth & Environment. The study of the temperature of the lunar soil showed sharp fluctuations even between close areas. At the place of landing "Chandraian -3" the temperature ranged from +82 ° C in the daytime to -168 ° C at night. Just a meter from the module, the temperature was much lower, which indicates the possible accumulation of water ice at a small depth. Places with a relatively low temperature can contain water ice reserves. Astronauts will be able to produce water without considerable effort, which will reduce the cost of missions. Water obtained can be used: for drinking, for the production of oxygen for breathing, for the creation of rocket fuel (splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen). The most promising places are slopes near the South Pole of the Moon. They receive less sunlight, so there are lower temperatures, and water ice lies closer to the surface. It is in such areas that NASA astronauts are planning within the future monthly missions. Less dependence on Earth → cheaper and longer missions. Water source → the ability to create permanent monthly databases. Local fuel production → prospects for further flights to deep space.
This discovery can be a key step towards creating a full infrastructure on a month that can maintain a long -term stay of a person in space.
