A new study by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) using high resolution data from the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter has identified what may be some of the clearest evidence yet of subsurface water ice hidden beneath craters near the Moon south pole, with findings reported widely on 28 May 2026 and published in the peer reviewed journal npj Space Exploration. The team used observations from the Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) aboard Chandrayaan 2 launched in July 2019, which is the first fully polarimetric radar instrument ever sent to study the Moon, operating in L and S band microwave frequencies. The DFSAR can penetrate up to a few metres beneath the lunar regolith and is therefore capable of detecting ice deposits that are not visible to optical sensors. The study identified radar signatures consistent with buried water ice beneath four doubly shadowed craters in the lunar south polar region. The strongest evidence was found in a 1.1 kilometre wide crater located within the larger Faustini crater near the Moon south pole, where the Circular Polarisation Ratio values are anomalously high, a tell tale signature of water ice mixed with regolith. Doubly shadowed craters are zones permanently in shadow that act as cold traps trapping volatiles for billions of years. The discovery has major implications for ISRO Chandrayaan 4 sample return mission, the planned Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) jointly with Japan JAXA, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station 2035 and crewed lunar landing by 2040 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as in situ water ice is critical for life support, propellant and human settlement at the lunar south pole.