The lunar south pole is of special interest to scientists because of the postulated occurrence of ice in permanently shadowed areas. Of the lunar poles, the south pole is of greater interest because the area that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the north pole. The lunar south pole craters are unique in that sunlight does not reach the bottom. Such craters are cold traps that contain a fossil record of the early solar system.

Craters

The rotational axis of the moon lies within Shackleton Crater

Shackleton (crater)

Shackleton is an impact crater that lies at the south pole of the Moon. The peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, while the interior is perpetually in shadow. The low-temperature interior of this crater functions as a cold trap that may capture and freeze volatiles...

. Notable craters nearest to the lunar south pole include De Gerlache

De Gerlache (crater)

de Gerlache is a lunar crater that is located along the southern limb of the Moon, within a crater diameter of Shackleton at the south pole. From the Earth this crater is seen from the edge, and it lies in perpetual darkness. Thus little or no detail can be seen of this crater, other than the edge...

, Sverdrup

Sverdrup (crater)

Sverdrup is a lunar crater that is located about one crater diameter from the southern pole of the Moon. It lies on the far side of the Moon with respect to the Earth, in an area of the surface that is only illuminated by very oblique light from the Sun. The interior part of the crater is cloaked...

, Shoemaker

Shoemaker (lunar crater)

Shoemaker is a lunar crater that is located near the southern pole of the Moon, within half a crater diameter of Shackleton. It lies to the south of the crater Malapert, to the east of Haworth, and just to the west of the similar-sized Faustini. The rim of Shoemaker is circular and worn, with some...

, Faustini

Faustini (crater)

Faustini is a lunar crater that lies near the south pole of the Moon. It is located nearly due south of the much larger crater Amundsen, and is almost attached to Shoemaker to the southwest. About one crater diameter due south is the smaller crater Shackleton at the south pole...

, Haworth

Haworth (crater)

Haworth is an impact crater that lies at the south pole of the Moon. The crater is named after Walter Haworth.-Description:The crater was imaged by Diviner. Cabeus Crater is nearby.-External links:*...

, Nobile

Nobile (crater)

Nobile is a lunar crater that is located near the southern pole of the Moon. It lies to the south of the crater Scott, along the western rim of Amundsen. Between Nobile and the southern pole lie the smaller craters Shoemaker and Faustini....

 and Cabeus

Cabeus (crater)

Cabeus is a lunar crater that is located about from the south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost perpetually in deep shadow due to lack of sunlight. Hence, not much detail can be seen of this crater, even from orbit...

.

Exploration

Spacecraft from several countries have explored

Exploration of the Moon

The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the...

 the lunar south pole. Extensive studies were conducted by the Lunar Orbiter

Lunar Orbiter program

The Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five unmanned lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States from 1966 through 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon's surface, they provided the first photographs from lunar orbit.All five missions were successful,...

, Clementine, Lunar Prospector

Lunar Prospector

The Lunar Prospector mission was the third selected by NASA for full development and construction as part of the Discovery Program. At a cost of $62.8 million, the 19-month mission was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible...

, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

The Lunar Precursor Robotic Program is a program of robotic spacecraft missions which NASA will use to prepare for future human spaceflight missions to the Moon. Two LPRP missions, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite , were launched in June 2009...

, Kaguya

SELENE

SELENE , better known in Japan by its nickname after the legendary Japanese moon princess, was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft. Produced by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and the National Space Development Agency , both now part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration...

, and Chandrayaan. NASA's

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 LCROSS

LCROSS

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the moon. The main LCROSS mission objective was to explore the presence of water ice...

 mission found a significant amount of water in Cabeus

Cabeus (crater)

Cabeus is a lunar crater that is located about from the south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost perpetually in deep shadow due to lack of sunlight. Hence, not much detail can be seen of this crater, even from orbit...

.

See also

• Colonization of the Moon polar regions
• Selenography
  Selenography
  Selenography is the study of the surface and physical features of the Moon. Historically, the principal concern of selenographists was the mapping and naming of the lunar maria, craters, mountain ranges, and other various features...