Chinese scientists find the moon's far side may be drier than expected

In early 2025, scientists in China reported findings from a lunar mission that examined soil and rocks from the moon's far side. This study is significant as it marks the first successful landing on the moon's far side last year by China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft, which collected samples from the ancient South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the solar system’s largest impact craters. The research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Sen Hu, analyzed these samples to assess water abundance, revealing an estimated water content of less than 1.5 micrograms per gram of soil. This water content is on the drier end of levels previously recorded from the moon's near side, where measurements have varied significantly between 1 microgram and 200 micrograms per gram. These findings may suggest varying water distribution between the lunar hemispheres, indicating that the far side might be depleted of resources possibly due to impacts that transferred water to the near side. Despite these findings, it is expected that NASA’s planned lunar missions will continue with less emphasis on the far side, as permanently shadowed craters near the lunar south pole are believed to contain significant amounts of ice that can be utilized for human activities such as drinking, cooking, and fuel production. In the coming years, NASA aims to send astronauts to orbit the moon followed by a landing planned for 2027, while China has ambitions for its own moon landing by 2030.