In a groundbreaking discovery, soil and rock samples collected from the moon's enigmatic far side reveal it may be drier than the previously explored near side, according to recent reports from Chinese scientists.

This fascinating finding, while intriguing, comes with a warning: more samples are essential for a comprehensive understanding. Unraveling the water content of the lunar mantle is key to deciphering the moon's evolutionary history—and it might just keep astronauts closer to home.

Last year, China made history by becoming the first nation to land on the moon's far side with its Chang'e 6 mission, collecting volcanic rock and soil from the colossal South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the solar system's largest impact sites.

Sen Hu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shared that his team analyzed 5 grams of soil samples, meticulously selecting 578 particles for electron microscope studies. The results? A water abundance of less than 1.5 micrograms per gram—significantly drier than the near side, which boasts a range of 1 to 200 micrograms per gram.

However, scientists stress the need for further testing to determine the prevalence of this dryness, as their study in the journal Nature highlighted.

One theory suggests that the impact responsible for creating this massive basin may have propelled water elements towards the near side, leaving the far side lacking. Alternatively, the distribution of water could vary between the moon's hemispheres.

Yet, even if this dryness is confirmed, it likely won’t alter NASA's ambitious plans to explore the moon's south polar region, believed to contain vast ice reserves in permanently shadowed craters—an invaluable resource for drinking, cooking, and fuel.

NASA is gearing up to send four astronauts on a lunar flyby next year as part of its Artemis program, the next chapter in lunar exploration that follows the iconic Apollo missions of the late 20th century. A landing near the lunar south pole could occur as early as 2027, while China eyes its own crewed lunar landing by 2030.