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In addition: While the Apollo ferries landed at the equator of the moon, where large plains determine the terrain, the current missions mostly head for the South Pole. “We know that there is water there,” says Dettmann. Astronauts can use this to produce drinking water or rocket fuel. In addition, the lunar sand in dark craters at the pole has been untouched for billions of years – so it provides information about the history of the solar system in a way that rock samples from the Apollo missions have not previously been able to provide. The disadvantage of the new landing region: The South Pole is very rugged, making landing much more difficult.