No touching
As NASA and other space agencies move toward their goal of setting up shop on the moon, questions remain about how scientists and colonists will actually survive if they get there.
Experts have pushed the idea that ice on the moons of the moon could be collected for drinking water. But now NASA claims that the scientific potential of polar ice is potentially too great to endanger, Space.com reports, because harvesting some of the ice runs the risk of contaminating the rest.
Off Limits
Last month, NASA published a new set of guidelines designed to protect every world being explored by a crew as a robotic mission. As Space.com reports, the directive stated that polar ice regions have enormous value from a scientific perspective and should be protected.
In short: Keep in mind that your future attempts to analyze the ice muck.
Delicate balance
The directive only applies to NASA, so other space agencies like private companies like SpaceX could still chip in on the ice of the moon. But doing so could also detract from great opportunities to discover the moon’s mysterious past – or to hunt for signs of life.
“Some parts of the moon are very fragile, especially the lunar atmosphere and the coldest parts of the lunar poles,” said University of Hawaii Manoa planetary scientist Paul Lucey. Space.com. “Extended human activity can permanently change these environments, leading to a loss of the science they can deliver.”
READ MORE: Cold as (Moon) Ice: Protecting the Moon’s Polar Regions from Pollution [Space.com]
More on lunaris: Study: There is more water on the moon than we thought
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