Current Theories of Lunar Ice

Abstract

The classical theory of cold-trapped ice on the Moon and some modern theories are reviewed and compared with observational constraints. The "standard model" for lunar ice posits that ice has accumulated in polar cold traps after the spin axis orientation became small enough for polar craters to be permanently shadowed. Its predictions are consistent with major observational constraints. Only a few less established observational claims are unaccounted for. The text focuses on fundamental theoretical concepts and assumes some pre-existing familiarity with the topic of lunar polar volatiles.