Volatiles

For billions of years, the sun has been spewing out gasses. Some of these gas molecules hit the moon, and some of them stuck. "Volatiles" are substances that evaporate easily; most of the things we know as gasses in our daily lives on Earth fit this category. Volatile gasses are scarce on the moon, but thanks to this bombardment from the sun, they do exist. They will play a vital role in the economic future of the lunar community.

In this section of the Artemis Data Book we catalog what we know about these volatiles, assess their abundance and value to the lunar economy, and identify processes for extracting, storing, and using them on the moon.