Why moon's South Pole? NASA Artemis Program

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-07

[00:00:00]Nearly 55 years later, NASA, through its Artemis missions, is preparing to put humans on the moon again. And this time, it is planning to build a base on its South Pole.

[00:00:11]But why the South Pole? Here are three reasons. Number one, water. In space travel where every gram of payload is optimized, having a water reserve right beside your base is a huge advantage.

[00:00:23]Besides for human consumption and growing crops, you can split water and make rocket fuel. But here is the problem. The gravity on the moon is so low, the atmosphere is almost non-existent. Adding to that, a lunar day is 14 Earth days long, and the temperature soar to 120° C at the lunar equator. These low-pressure and high-temperature conditions make it impossible for water to exist anywhere near the surface. But at the poles, it's a different story. The moon's axial tilt with respect to sun is just 1.5°.

[00:00:57]That means sunlight always skims near horizontally at the poles, and the floors of deep craters called PSRs, permanent shadowed regions, never see the sun, keeping temperatures as low as -230° C in those regions. And there is strong evidence of presence of water as ice in these PSRs. Number two, energy. A moon's base needs constant power for life support, space suits, labs, rovers, etc. And you've got the sun right there.

[00:01:27]The problem is, just like the lunar day, a lunar night is 14 Earth days long, when the temperature plunges to -120° C.

[00:01:36]Solar panels are useless half the day.

[00:01:38]However, at the poles, the sun is always at the horizon. And at places like the rim of Shackleton crater, which is at the South Pole, sunlight is near continuous. You get stable, constant solar power right next to your water source. Number three, research. At the South Pole lies one of the extraordinary geological features in the solar system.

[00:02:00]The South Pole-Aitken Basin. It is one of the largest and oldest impact craters we know of, nearly as old as the moon itself. The impact during its formation was so violent, it punched a hole through the crust and may have exposed material from the moon's mantle. Rock that has sat untouched for over 4 billion years. Studying it could help us better understand the moon's formation and early solar system.

[00:02:26]So, water, energy, and ancient research all in one place. That's why the South Pole.

[00:02:32]Click here to watch the incredible story of the formation of the moon.