Cold traps are locations on the Moon that are shielded from sunlight where volatiles such as water could accumulate and persist against sublimation for geologic timescales. We model how long it takes accumulating craters to produce and then obliterate sub-kilometer scale cold traps. Sub-meter cold traps are extremely ephemeral, evolving in and out of existence over less than a few thousand years; however, larger 100 m to 1 km-scale cold traps may persevere for geologic timescales and preserve a record of the volatile history of the Moon.

The LVS-PIE Phase A project successfully investigated the feasibility of using the Lunar Volatiles Scout instrument on the ispace Polar Ice Explorer rover to search for possible cold-trapped water ice deposits at the lunar poles. The suitability of the two systems for a joint mission was studied based on identified conflicts between both initial systems, such as the envelope for integration or the power budget. The interfaces were made compatible, mechanical structure and mechanisms were updated to enable system integration and thermal simulations were performed to refine the thermal design for safe operation within the thermal limits under lunar conditions. Thermal extraction simulations for the instrument constrained the power requirement during the instrument's heating phase. Real drilling down forces and reaction torques were determined with representative experiments for both rover and instrument revealing stable conditions during the envisioned drilling process. In the developed mission scenario, operational feasibility of the LVS-PIE mission concept was demonstrated using a notional traverse, remote sensing data and investigation of technical budgets. The mission can reach sites of high scientific interest at the lunar poles and perform relevant measurements with the instrument. A joined mission consisting of an instrument package for drilling and gas analysis on a rover below 20 kg total mass is found to be technically feasible and scientifically valuable.

We assess the geographic distribution and temporal variability of seasonal shadow at the lunar polar regions and explore its influence on surface water migration and deposition within known permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) in the modern era. At its largest expanse near the winter solstice, seasonally shadowed area more than doubles the permanently shadowed area at both poles. The growth and decay of polar shadow throughout the year enforce distinct seasonal patterns in the poleward migration of water as well as a cyclical variation in the polar surface hydration throughout the year if a continual source of water is assumed. The polar surface water abundance peaks near the hemispheric vernal equinox-significantly offset from the solstice where the seasonal trapping area is most expansive-due to the retention of seasonally trapped water. Owing to their low areal density, lower-latitude PSRs do not significantly hamper the poleward migration of water, enabling water to reach the high polar latitudes where cold trapping area is densest. We find that northern hemisphere PSRs accumulate more water per unit area than southern hemisphere PSRs and that this disparity is especially prominent beyond 85 degrees. The north/south asymmetry is attributed to differences in the hemispheric PSR size-frequency distributions; such differences enable unique north/south migration diffusivities, which favor more water reaching the high northern latitudes.

Incorporation of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and the production of mission-critical consumables for propulsion, power, and life support into mission architectures can greatly reduce the mass, cost, and risk of missions, leading to a sustainable and affordable approach to human exploration beyond Earth. ISRU and its products can also greatly affect how other exploration systems are developed, including determining which technologies are important or enabling. Although the concept of lunar ISRU has existed for more than 40 years, the technologies and systems had not progressed much past simple laboratory proof-of-concept tests. With the release of the Vision for Space Exploration in 2004 with the goal of harnessing the Moon's resources, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated the ISRU project in the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) to develop the technologies and systems needed to meet this goal. In the 5 years of work in the ISRU Project, significant advancements and accomplishments occurred in several important areas of lunar ISRU. Also, two analog field tests held in Hawaii in 2008 and 2010 demonstrated all the steps in ISRU capabilities required, along with the integration of ISRU products and hardware with propulsion, power, and cryogenic storage systems. This paper will review the scope of the ISRU Project in the ETDP, ISRU incorporation, development strategies used by the ISRU project, and ISRU development and test accomplishments over the 5 years of funded project activity. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000208. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

The study of the elements and molecules of astrobiological interest on the Moon can be made with the Gas Analysis Package (GAP) and associated instruments developed for the Beagle 2 Mars Express Payload. The permanently shadowed polar regions of the Moon may offer a unique location for the cold-trapping of the light elements (i.e. H, C, N, O, etc.) and their simple compounds. Studies of the returned lunar samples have shown that lunar materials have undergone irradiation with the solar wind and adsorb volatiles from possible cometary and micrometeoroid impacts. The Beagle 2's analytical instrument package including the sample processing facility and the GAP mass spectrometer can provide vital isotopic information that can distinguish whether the lunar volatiles are indigenous to the moon, solar wind derived, cometary in origin or from meteoroids impacting on the Moon. As future Lunar Landers are being considered, the suite of instruments developed for the Mars Beagle 2 lander can be consider as the baseline for any lunar volatile or resource instrument package.