Lunar Polar Ice

Abstract: Lunar volatiles, especially water, hold the key to sustaining long-term human presence on the Moon and beyond. I will cover the latest discoveries in volatile stability, distribution, sources, and transport. Due to the Moon's monotonic decrease in spin axis obliquity, perennially shadowed regions near the poles have shrunk with time.   Thus, comparing the observations against theoretical models affords the opportunity to constrain the history of ice accumulation in these regions.  These constraints offer both fundamental insights and practical value.