Researchers confirm carbon dioxide ‘cold traps’ on the moon for the first time

TORONTO —
Researchers have finally confirmed the presence of carbon dioxide ‘cold traps’ on the moon after decades of research, a discovery that is integral to potential long-term robot or human presence there, according to a paper published last month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Similar to Pluto, the permanently shadowed regions of the moon’s poles endure temperatures cold enough to allow for carbon dioxide to freeze and remain solid even during peak heat in the lunar summer.

The confirmation will likely have a “major influence in shaping future lunar missions,” according to a news release, as future robot or human explorers could use the frozen carbon dioxide to make fuel or materials for longer lunar expeditions.

The carbon dioxide and other potential discoveries may also help scientists better understand the origins of water and other organic elements on the moon.

While cold traps have been theorized by researchers for years, the new research is the first to definitively confirm and map the presence of them on the moon.

In order to find them, researchers analyzed 11 years of data from the “Divine Lunar Radiometer Experiment,” an instrument aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Their analysis shows that the lunar cold traps include several pockets clustered around the southern lunar pole, with the total area of the traps equalling 204 square kilometres. The Amundsen Crater holds the largest, with 82 square kilometres of cold traps. The temperatures in those areas remain below 60 degrees Kelvin or -213.15 C.

While the confirmation of carbon dioxide cold traps on the moon does not guarantee the existence of solid carbon dioxide there, researchers said in the paper, the discovery does make it highly likely that future missions could find carbon dioxide ice there.

If there is solid carbon dioxide in the cold traps, researchers posit it could be potentially used as a resource in steel, rocket fuel and biomaterial production, which would be essential for sustained robot or human presence on the moon.

Scientists could also study the solid carbon dioxide to better understand how organic compounds form and what kind of natural molecules can be produced in those extreme environments – it could also be a tracer for the sources of water on the lunar surface.

“These should be high-priority sites to target for future landed missions,” said planetary scientist Paul Hayne in the release. “This sort of pinpoints where you might go on the lunar surface to answer some of these big questions about volatiles (chemical compounds) on the moon and their delivery from elsewhere in the solar system.”