Scientists may have found a new way to search for water ice hidden beneath the Moon’s surface—by listening to the vibrations caused by moonquakes.
A new study suggests that seismic waves, which are similar to the waves created during earthquakes on Earth, could help researchers locate and measure underground ice, especially near the Moon’s south pole.
The research was carried out by scientists from the University of Maryland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Hawaii, and was published in Science Advances.
The timing of the study is important because NASA’s Artemis program plans to send astronauts to the Moon’s south polar region in 2028.
Scientists believe this area contains large amounts of water ice trapped inside deep craters that never receive sunlight. These permanently dark regions stay extremely cold, allowing ice to survive for billions of years.
Finding this ice would be a major advantage for future astronauts. The ice could be melted and cleaned to provide drinking water.
It could also be split into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel. Having these resources available on the Moon would reduce the amount of supplies that missions need to bring from Earth, making long-term exploration much more practical.
At the moment, however, scientists still do not know exactly where the ice is buried or how much exists. Spacecraft orbiting the Moon can study the surface, but they cannot see what lies deeper underground.
The researchers believe seismic waves could solve this problem. When these vibrations travel through the ground, they move differently depending on what is below the surface.
Dry lunar soil allows the waves to travel at one speed, while frozen ground containing ice is much stiffer, allowing the vibrations to move two to three times faster.
Ice-rich areas can also reflect some of the seismic energy, creating signals that can be detected by sensitive instruments called seismometers.
According to the researchers, these differences would allow scientists not only to confirm whether ice is present but also to estimate how much ice is hidden beneath the surface.
To test this idea, the team carried out several experiments. Lead author Harrison Lisabeth used volcanic rock from Arizona because, when crushed, it closely resembles the dusty soil found on the Moon.
After freezing the material, he used X-rays to see how ice filled the tiny spaces between the grains.
Another member of the team, Matthew Siegler from the University of Hawaii, created detailed computer maps showing which craters near the Moon’s south pole remain cold enough to preserve ice over extremely long periods.
Meanwhile, University of Maryland researcher Nicholas Schmerr used computer models to simulate small moonquakes traveling through underground ice deposits. In every test, the buried ice produced clear and recognizable changes in the seismic signals.
The discovery could provide more than just practical benefits for future space missions. Scientists believe the ice trapped inside the Moon’s ancient shadowed craters may have remained largely unchanged for billions of years.
Studying it could reveal how water was delivered throughout the early solar system and even provide clues about how Earth’s oceans formed.
Researchers may soon have the opportunity to test their predictions. China’s Chang’e-7 mission is expected to land near the Moon’s Shackleton Crater in late 2026 carrying a seismometer, while NASA’s Artemis astronauts could deploy another seismic instrument during their planned mission in 2028.
If these future missions detect the signals predicted by the new study, scientists could soon have their first direct measurements of hidden lunar ice, bringing humanity one step closer to using the Moon’s natural resources to support long-term space exploration.
