Searching for High-resolution Volatiles: Lunar Trailblazer Illustration (credit: Lockheed Martin Space)

In the 1800s and 1900s on Earth, you made your fortune if you discovered a new petroleum source. More colorfully spoken, “Striking it Rich!” was the subject of movies, such as 1956 Giant and the television series The Beverly Hillbillies. The competition is heating up for the discovery and capture lunar resources due to the new space race there. Aside from its symbolic value, water can enable life and be used for in situ fuels and other materials. What progress has been made to find and utilize lunar water? Water on the moon might be even more valuable than petroleum on Earth.

SustainSpace has covered water use and recycling on the International Space Station (ISS) in NASA Targets Reduced Water Usage for Long Duration Missions (2014 and Airbus ESA Advanced Closed Loop System (ACLS) (2018), etc. Some of that technology can be used on the Moon. Yet what is new?
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