Because the lunar South Pole offers power next to water. NASA’s South Pole lighting visualizations and the LPI Lunar South Pole Atlas have narrowed the near‑constant‑light candidates to a small set of coordinates on these crests – some modeled at roughly 90-94 percent annual illumination. China’s Queqiao 2 relay, launched in March 2024, supported the Chang’e 6 far‑side sample return and is positioned to back Chang’e 7 and Chang’e 8 at the South Pole. Beijing is rallying partners under the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) and has publicly floated a lunar nuclear power unit for the mid‑2030s to energize an outpost. Japan’s SLIM proved pinpoint landing, India’s Chandrayaan‑3 executed the first South Pole soft landing, and South Korea’s Danuri is returning unprecedented views of permanently shadowed terrain via ShadowCam.