The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources created an estimated map of water distribution in the lunar polar regions. This was achieved using the gamma-ray spectrometer (KPLO Gamma-Ray Spectrometer, KGRS) aboard Korea's first lunar orbiter, Danuri, launched in August 2022.
Kim Kyung-ja, head of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources' Space Resource Development Center, noted on the 30th that the research team succeeded in creating a water distribution map of the lunar poles by analyzing data collected by the KGRS over the past two years.
The research team estimated that water is distributed more broadly at the lunar north pole. They predicted that the water content would also be higher at the north pole than at the south pole. These results align with data sent by the lunar probe Lunar Prospector, launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1998. Lunar Prospector estimated the ice content in the polar regions of the moon to be 4.6% for the north pole and 3.0% for the south pole, estimating that about 330 million tons of water exists at the north pole.
The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources used the KGRS to create a neutron map of the lunar polar regions to analyze these results. The neutron map of the KGRS mainly reacts in the thermal neutron and epithermal neutron regions, revealing that the number of neutrons decreases as water content increases. This allows for predictions of water content distribution in specific areas.
Kim Kyung-ja stated, "This research result demonstrates the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources' unique lunar resource exploration technology and is expected to be an important turning point for future development and exploration of space resources, including the moon." She added, "We will take the lead in enhancing Korea's space resource technology and strengthening competitiveness in global space exploration through continuous lunar resource exploration research."