This Is the Most Terrifying Place on the Moon - Here's Why

0:00You might think high-tech telescopes let us see every inch of the moon, but that's not true. At our satellite south pole, light giant craters untouched by sunlight for eons, stuck in pitch black, colder than Pluto, and almost impossible to explore. However, maybe we have to if we want to explore a space. Because the darkness hides, some must have resources that will make life and long distance travel in space possible. Yes, we're talking about water locked up as tiny crystals in the lunar soil. Now, water in space is always good news. You've probably heard that scientists are also obsessed with finding it on Mars. If the red planet has any type of water below its surface, it raises the exciting possibility that life might have existed there. Even microbes would be the biggest discovery in human history. That's why rovers are poking around Martian craters and drilling into the soil like some very dedicated space gardeners.

1:03But as incredible as water on Mars would be, water on the moon might be even more valuable to us in the short term. The reasons are simple. The distance and the gravity of the moon. We can reach our satellite in three days. That's almost nothing. It takes at least seven days to reach New York from London via a cruise ship. But more important than the length of the trip is the possibility of using the moon as a pit stop. Stop, refuel, and relaunch so we can resume exploration. The gravity on the moon is only one sixth as strong as Earth's. That's not just useful for endlessly entertaining yourself by jumping around. This difference means that launching rockets from our satellite is much easier compared to launching them from Earth, which requires a tremendous amount of fuel just to break free from the atmosphere. For example, the Saturn V rocket which took astronauts to the moon during the Apollo missions was made up of more than 90% fuel just to get off the ground.

2:06On the moon however, it's much easier to launch a rocket. That means that we could carry heavier loads with less fuel. It's like being able to take a bigger suitcase on your trip. If we can find and use ice on the moon to create rocket fuel, it would turn our satellite into a practical and affordable stop for exploring the solar system. Not to mention that by applying some basic chemistry, we could extract oxygen from water and use it for breathing or a rocket engines. Also, astronauts would need water to drink and grow crops on the lunar base. So, what do we know about the latest discoveries? For a long time, scientists thought the moon was completely dry. But in 2009, NASA basically crashed a rocket into a crater. It caused an explosion of ice and vapor like fireworks and finally confirmed that the moon had some kind of water. But how much? Well, enough to matter.

3:06The data suggests there could be hundreds of millions of tons of water ice locked up in the moon's polar regions. Some estimates roughly say 1.3 trillion pounds. That's about the same weight as 460 million cars. Not exactly lakes, but still a lot. And there still could be more. This water could also contribute to uncovering cool scientific secrets. The ice is ancient, which makes it like a time capsule from the early days of the solar system. Studying those frozen molecules might tell us not only how water got to the moon, but also how it appeared on Earth. Anyway, what's all that water doing on the moon? How did it get there? Scientists assumed that some of it probably hitched a ride on comets and asteroids billions of years ago. Many of those space rocks carried ice and some of that water ended up in the polar regions. Another source could be the way solar wind interacts with the lunar surface.

4:08In any case, however this ice appeared on the moon, the real trick is where it ended up. Inside, it's polar craters. And while we can find the ice not only in the craters at the south pole, that's where the largest most stable reserves are believed to be. Some of those craters are enormous. One of the most famous is called the Shackleton Crater, and it's over 13 miles wide and more than 2 miles deep. That's almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The moon barely tilts on its axis, only about 1 degree, so the sun never peaks over the rims of those deep polar pits. The temperatures dip to around negative 400 degrees Fahrenheit there. Any water or chemicals trapped in that frozen dirt just stay there, locked away like in a freezer. Something really cool is that at the south pole you have parts that are stuck in the perpetual darkness, but some nearby mountain ridges get almost non-stop sunlight.

5:09Scientists call them the peaks of eternal light. They are perfect for setting up solar panels, while still being close enough to access the icy treasures hidden below. The poles of the moon are the only places in our solar system we know of, where perpetual day and night exist side by side. But the eternal night isn't just fascinating, it's dangerous. The terrain out there is absolutely unforgiving. We can't even simulate something like that on Earth. We don't even know what it looks like from the inside. It's worse than exploring the northernmost part of Antarctica, while wearing a blindfold. So now that we know this, is that potential water even obtainable? That question is probably worth several trillions of dollars. Yes, there's water over there, but getting to it won't be like scooping ice cream from a bowl. What we're really talking about are microscopic ice crystals mixed into lunar dust. To make use of it, machines would need to dig and heat up the soil, then capture the vapor before it escapes back into space.

6:17And then, there's freezing. Even assuming a human or rover could safely reach the bottom of a crater, it'd be almost impossible to navigate. Batteries and equipment probably wouldn't last, and it's impossible to use solar panels or electronics down there. It'd freeze in minutes. However, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter uses all kinds of radars and sensors to sniff out what the crater looks like inside. And now there's an even sharper tool. Shadowcam. A camera so sensitive, it can capture details in light 100 times dimmer than what our eyes can see. Basically, the ultimate night vision device. With it, we can finally map those pits without even setting foot there. That's why engineers are thinking up all sorts of clever solutions. Some concepts involve nuclear-powered rovers with headlights strong enough to carve through the dark. Others want robots that repel down crater walls or hop across the floor like pogo sticks.

7:19There are even ideas for drills that could melt frozen soil and trap water vapor like condensation on a cold soda can. The silver lining is that this water isn't going anywhere. Until we improve our technology, the supply will wait for us. That being said, space agencies are already making advancements. In fact, more than half a dozen new missions are lined up over the next few years. NASA's Artemis program is getting ready to send astronauts back around the moon and then down to the South Pole. China's Chang A7 is planning to check out those dark craters. Private companies like Firefly and Blue Origin are gearing up to deliver equipment and experiments. Now, here's a bonus lesser known fun fact. The moon smells. When Apollo astronauts brought lunar dust into their landers, it mixed with the oxygen inside and ended up smelling pretty strong.

8:19They said it was like burnt gunpowder or fireworks. Lunar dust has nothing to do with gunpowder, but its particles are highly reactive. Starting in space for billions of years, they reacted instantly with oxygen in the cabin, creating that smoky odor. Future explorers are definitely going to notice that smell, too, since lunar dust tends to stick to everything. Let's hope that aside from everything else, scientists will work out air fresheners for the moon base.