Lunar Water Ice?

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has gone through its testing and calibration phase and is ready to begin its scientific work. Scientists, however, were able to get some data during the testing, and that data points to possible water ice on the Moon.

LRO's main task is to identify possible sites for future manned landings in the south polar region. NASA believes from previous data that that is the most likely area to find water ice at or near the surface. There are deep craters in the area, and their floors are in permanent shadow-- natural deep, deep freezers where water ice could exist. Water on the Moon, of course, would be a big plus for human operations there.

The preliminary LRO data points towards water ice existing in those shadowed regions. It also suggests, however, that water may exist in areas beyond the shadows, which doesn't seem physically possible; any water exposed to the Sun's heat in that environment should boil away virtually instantaneously. Scientists have the whole of the LRO mission to solve that small mystery.