I see ice on the Moon!

Earth's Moon, waxing gibbous (three-fourths lit).

Earth's Moon seems to have some water ice at its poles, where temperatures are around 280 below zero F. It seems most likely that any water on the Moon came from comets. Any water on parts of the Moon that face the Sun would have boiled away. Only the shaded areas near the poles would stay cold enough to have ice.

Straight-down view of the Moon's south pole, with many craters.

This image of the Moon's south pole was made by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft in 1998. It used a special instrument called a neutron spectrometer to detect the water ice.

Photo of astronaut and lunar rover on the Moon, with hills in the background.

The Apollo 15 astronauts drove this rover over the surface of the Moon in July 1971. They did not have to worry about spinning the wheels on any patches of ice!

Moon's surface, very close, with lots of craters.

The Moon's surface as seen from the Apollo 11 lander in July 1969. Although they landed in the Sea of Tranquility, they found no water or ice there.

View across lunar landscape, with distant Earth, top half lit, rising above the horizon.

View of Earth-rise from the Moon as seen by the Apollo 11 astronauts from their spacecraft.