Humanity's oldest celestial companion has long invited projection — of wonder, of ambition, of futures not yet built. Now, a convergence of lunar research delivers a sobering correction: the moon holds water, but not enough to sustain the cities that entrepreneurs and agencies have begun to promise. The findings do not close the door on lunar presence, but they do redraw its threshold, reminding us that the distance between a dream and a destination is often measured in resources we cannot wish into existence.