While the surface of the moon has been mapped in incredible detail over the last several decades, one region has eluded orbital cameras due to the lack of sunlight, which are aptly called the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the moon.
Enter ShadowCam, whose light sensitivity is 200 times greater than LROC and can capture details of the lunar surface that have remained unseen until now. It accomplishes this by capturing the reflected sunlight from the myriad of geologic features on the moon or light from the Earth, also known as Earthshine.
The reason why scientists and engineers are so interested in Shackleton Crater and other lunar PSRs is due to their potential for possessing water ice that can be used for fuel and life support on future human missions, such as NASA's Artemis missions to the moon beginning with Artemis III, which is slated to be the first human landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972 and the first to the lunar south pole, and currently scheduled for 2025.
By directly mining water ice on the moon, also known as in situ resource utilization, this could substantially reduce the cost of resupply missions from the Earth, as water is arguably the most vital component of any crewed space mission. Additionally, since such water ice has allegedly been trapped in these craters for millions, if not billions, of years, they could also provide valuable scientific insights into the formation and evolution of the moon, as well.
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