The article identifies the South Pole–Aitken Basin (SPA) as a leading candidate for permanent lunar habitation and industrial development. It describes SPA as an impact basin more than 2,500 kilometres wide and approximately 8 kilometres deep on the Moon’s far side, probably among the Solar System’s oldest impact basins. Its southern edge lies almost directly over the lunar South Pole, where numerous smaller craters and permanently shadowed regions occur.
SPA’s depth exposes some of the Moon’s deepest surface rocks, giving the region exceptional value for reconstructing early lunar and Solar System history. High-relief polar terrain creates permanently shadowed regions with extremely low temperatures that may preserve ancient chemical species and isotope ratios; accessible water ice and other volatiles could support life support, propellant production, radiation shielding, and construction. The combination of scientific archives and in-situ resource utilisation reduces dependence on Earth, a central requirement for long-term civilisational survival.
The Ark team should treat the SPA south-polar margin as a priority site for comparative mapping and ground-truth research. Integrate high-resolution surveys of water-ice distribution, illumination cycles, terrain stability, communications access, radiation exposure, and extractable mineral resources into site-selection models; coordinate with Artemis-related planning and prioritise sample-return or robotic prospecting that can characterise ancient basin materials and volatile deposits before permanent infrastructure is committed.