Where is water on the Moon?

A Watery chemistry in Clavius crater

The detection of water molecules in Clavius, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, hinted at some degree of surface-wide hydration of the lunar regolith.

B dirty polar ice The Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Paul Spudis used Chandrayaan-1’s radar data to estimate that 600 million tonnes of water ice could be locked up in just 40 polar locales.

C mapping the poles The pole-to-pole orbit of Chandrayaan-1 allowed NASA’s onboard Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument to map the surface ice across the Moon’s southern pole.

D A wispy, watery atmosphere It’s believed that water molecules freed from lunar regolith grains by the warming Sun might bounce across the surface, travelling through the Moon’s thin exosphere.

E Volcanic water In 2017, Hawaii University’s Shuai Li found evidence of water in large pyroclastic deposits, including those found near the Apollo 15 and 17 landing sites.