Abstract: In the process of lunar exploration, water, as the source of life and an important propellant material for future interstellar travel, is one of the most concerned resources. Since United States Apollo and Soviet Union Lunar projects, the paradigm of “no water” on the Moon has been widely accepted for a long time. In this paper, the research progress on lunar interior water and surface water, the origin of lunar water, the evaluation of water resources, and the methods of exploitation and utilization are systematically reviewed. In recent years, the exploration of water resources on the lunar surface and the in-depth study of water content in lunar samples have revealed that the Moon may contain more water than that previously believed. Not only the interior of the Moon contains relatively abundant water, there are also considerable water resources in the polar region of the Moon. The origin of water on the Moon mainly includes original water that was not degassed during formation and differentiation of the Moon, water from asteroids and comets, and water from solar wind hydrogen implantation. It is estimated that the amount of water ice on the lunar surface is about 14.28 billion tons, and the amount of water caused by solar wind implantation on the lunar surface is about 340,000 tons, which will provide important resources for the construction of lunar bases and deep space exploration in the future. At present, a variety of development and utilization schemes have been proposed for the utilization of lunar water resources, including Thermal Mining of Water Ice on the Moon, Lunar Polar Propellant Mining Outpost (LPMO), The Combined System for Drilling and Extracting Lunar Water Ice and so on.

Key words: water in minerals, water ice, resource reserves, polar regions, the Moon