The Cold Harvest: Integrated Analysis of Volatile Sequestration and Landing Site Viability at the Lunar South Pole

Abstract

The existence of Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) and their distinct thermal environment have made the Lunar South Pole the main focus of international space exploration. Significant deposits of water ice and other volatiles necessary for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) are thought to be present in these "cold traps". In order to assess the geological makeup of the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin and propose high-priority landing locations, this article synthesizes recent data from the Artemis program, China's Chang'e missions, and India's Chandrayaan series.