http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/11/12/moon.water.ap/index.html(AP) -- The most exacting analysis yet of the moon's mysterious polar craters found no sign of the vast expanses of ice that scientists had hoped future lunar colonists could someday mine for precious, life-sustaining water.
The findings do not mean there is no ice in the permanently shaded craters. But if there is ice, it is probably mixed into the lunar soil in widely scattered flecks or in thin layers.
"It certainly would have been nice to find some sort of lunar skating rink, or thick layers of ice, but it looks like it's just not there," said Bruce Campbell of the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.And it appears that any future lunar colonists will have a hell of a time getting at the water.