Moonquakes Can Help Find Hidden Water on the Moon

Topic: Space

Scientists from the University of Maryland and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that moonquakes can help locate hidden water ice on the lunar surface. This discovery is crucial for future moon missions, as it could provide a reliable source of drinking water, oxygen, and hydrogen for fuel.

Water buried beneath the moon's surface may be detectable by listening to how vibrations move through the ground. Researchers from the University of Maryland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Hawaii used seismic waves to locate and map ice hidden below the moon's surface.

The findings were published in Science Advances on July 31, 2026, as space agencies prepare for a new era of lunar exploration. NASA's Artemis program is aiming for crewed missions to the moon's south polar region in 2028, where permanently shadowed craters may contain valuable deposits of water ice.

For astronauts, that ice could serve several purposes. Once melted and purified, it could provide drinking water. Electricity could also separate it into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel. A reliable local supply would reduce the amount of material that future missions need to transport from Earth.

Satellites cannot see deep underground, but seismic measurements can reveal deposits that orbital observations cannot reach. The new study suggests that seismic waves travel two to three times faster through ice-rich areas than through dry soil. This effect is similar to sound bouncing off a wall and producing an echo.

Why It Matters

This discovery is crucial for future moon missions, as it could provide a reliable source of drinking water, oxygen, and hydrogen for fuel. India has its own space program, ISRO, which may benefit from this research in the long run.

Key Facts

• Scientists from the University of Maryland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Hawaii used seismic waves to locate and map ice hidden below the moon's surface.
• NASA's Artemis program is aiming for crewed missions to the moon's south polar region in 2028.
• Seismic waves travel two to three times faster through ice-rich areas than through dry soil.
• The study was published in Science Advances on July 31, 2026.
• The research team used computer simulations to model small moonquakes traveling through underground deposits of lunar ice.

Key Terms

Seismic waves

Vibrations that travel through the ground, similar to sound waves in air

Regolith

The loose, fragmented rock that covers the moon's surface

Implications

This discovery is crucial for future moon missions, as it could provide a reliable source of drinking water, oxygen, and hydrogen for fuel. India has its own space program, ISRO, which may benefit from this research in the long run.