In a recent announcement, members of the latest NASA moon-crash mission - Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) – confirmed the presence of water, in a “significant amount,” on Moon.

Noting that its moon mission was a successful one, NASA said that the October crash of a two-ton rocket and the SUV-size LCROSS near the Moon’s shaded south pole crater, Cabeus, revealed a notable amount of water ice and vapor.

Commenting on the findings on the Moon’s surface, Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator, said: “I'm here today to tell you that indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit, we found a significant amount.” Colaprete said that, as per a rather conservative estimate, the water kicked up was enough to fill nearly one dozen 2-gallon buckets.

Colaprete further added that the LCROSS mission was “a whole lot more beyond the water,” since the data revealed by the LCROSS instruments also indicated the presence of other compounds, which may throw light on the evolution of Moon, the Earth-Moon system, and the early solar system.

Saying that the LCROSS discovery may lay a notable foundation for future exploration, Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, said that using solar energy, future astronauts can theoretically break down recovered ice; and mull over the possibility of human existence beyond the Earth.