page_title: Lunar south pole
section_title: Missions
hierarchical_section_title: Lunar south pole / Exploration / Missions
caption_attribution_description: English: Lunar map depicting craters on the south pole of the moon. LAC 144. Polar Stereographic Projection. Map revised November 9, 2009. Index for other maps in this series: http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/dAtlas.html.
context_page_description: The lunar south pole is of special interest to scientists because of the occurrence of water ice in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lunar south pole region features craters that are unique in that the near-constant sunlight does not reach their interior. Such craters are cold traps that contain a fossil record of hydrogen, water ice, and other volatiles dating from the early Solar System. In contrast, the lunar north pole region exhibits a much lower quantity of similarly sheltered craters.
context_section_description: Orbiters from several countries have explored the region around the lunar south pole. Extensive studies were conducted by the Lunar Orbiters, Clementine, Lunar Prospector, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kaguya, and Chandrayaan-1, that discovered the presence of lunar water. 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.
  The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was launched on 18 June 2009 and is still mapping the lunar south pole region. This mission will help scientists see if the lunar south pole region has enough sustainable resources to sustain a permanent crewed station. The LRO carries the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, which is investigating the radiation and thermophysical properties of the south pole surface. It can detect reflected solar radiation and internal infrared emissions. The LRO Diviner is able to detect where water ice could be trapped on the surface.
  On 3 January 2019, the Chang'e 4, a Chinese spacecraft, was the first to soft land (45.5 ° S, 177.6 ° E) in the Von Kármán crater, which is within the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin on the southern far side of the Moon.
  India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, which was launched on 22 July 2019, attempted to soft-land on the south polar region of the Moon between 70.90267°S  22.78110°E and 67.87406°S  18.46947°W. The lander failed to land safely losing communication barely 335m from the ground.
caption: Lunar south polar region map (>80°S).
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