Lunar south pole

The lunar south pole is of special interest to scientists because of the postulated occurrence of water ice in permanently shadowed areas around it. Of the lunar poles, the south pole is of greater interest because the area that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the north pole. The lunar south pole craters are unique in that sunlight does not reach the bottom. Such craters are cold traps that contain a fossil record of the early solar system.

The lunar south pole is located on the center base of the far side of the moon (80°S to 90°S) and covers a distance of about 1250 km. The lunar south pole has shifted 5 degrees from where it previously was billions of years ago. This shift has change the rotational axis of the moon allowing sunlight to reach areas of the moon previously shadowed. The axis spin is 88.5 degrees from the plane of the eliptic. The south pole contains areas of permanent darkness, where the sunlight never reaches. On the contrary, the pole also contains areas with permanent exposure to sunlight. The south pole contains many craters as and basins such as the South Pole-Aitken basin; which appears to be one of the most fundamental features of the moon. The south pole contains mountains such as Epsilon Peak which is taller than any mountain found on earth. The south pole is thermally benign, ranging at an average of 250-270 Kelvin.

The rotational axis of the Moon lies within Shackleton Crater. Notable craters nearest to the lunar south pole include De Gerlache, Sverdrup, Shoemaker, Faustini, Haworth, Nobile and Cabeus.

Spacecraft from several countries have explored the region around the lunar south pole. Extensive studies were conducted by the Lunar Orbiter, Clementine, Lunar Prospector, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kaguya, and Chandrayaan. NASA's LCROSS mission found a significant amount of water in Cabeus. NASA’s LCROSS mission deliberately crashed into the floor of Cabeus and from samples found that it contained nearly 5% water.

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