Moon ice?
- Moon -- no atmosphere
- high Noon T ~ 400 K
- midnight T ~ 77 K
- very cold, water freezes at 273 K
- crater at N or S pole
- always shaded from Sunlight
- T will be < 77 K
- major volatiles, H2O, CH4, NH3 will all freeze
- Importance
- Record of “heavy bombardment” phase
- first billion years of solar system
- Could tell us about nature of icy bodies
- Comet nuclei are “dirty snowballs”
- Help to understand Earth’s origins
- origin of our atmosphere and oceans
- Could supply moon-base with needed water
- drinking, farming, fuel for rockets