Moon water ice limits lunar city dreams, study finds

A new study has dashed hopes of building a large city on the Moon, concluding that available water ice would only support a small village. The research was conducted by scientists Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell. The study found that solar power is sufficient, with panels on tall towers potentially generating up to 3 GW of energy. However, water is the critical limitation, as a million-person city would exhaust the most optimistic ice estimates in just 2.4 years. Even with 98% water recycling, supplies would last only 100 years, and less optimistic estimates make a large city nearly impossible. The scientists suggest improved recycling, reduced consumption, or importing water from asteroids as potential future solutions.