The moon has deep craters that sit at such an angle that even reflected sunlight doesn’t touch some areas, making them prime locations for water ice to collect
Space
14 March 2022
Shackleton crater sits at the moon’s south pole Jorge Mañes Rubio. Spatial design & visualisation in collaboration with DITISHOE
Some of the moon’s craters may contain “double-shadowed” regions that are so dark they would be among the coldest places in the solar system.
The small tilt of the moon – just 1.5 degrees – as it orbits with Earth around the sun means that it has hundreds of craters where direct sunlight never reaches. We know that inside these craters, located near the moon’s poles, temperatures can drop below -170°C, making them prime locations for water ice to collect and optimum …