updated 7:03 p.m. ET Sept. 23, 2009
Since humans first touched the moon and brought pieces of it back to Earth, scientists have thought that the lunar surface was bone-dry (极其干燥的). But new observations from three different spacecraft have put this notion(观念) to rest with what has been called "unambiguous evidence (确凿证据)" of water across the surface of the moon.
The new findings, detailed in Friday's issue(刊物) of the journal Science, come in the wake of (紧随) further evidence of lunar polar water ice by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and just weeks before the planned lunar impact of NASA's LCROSS satellite, which will hit one of the permanently shadowed craters(火山坑) at the moon's south pole in hope of churning up (搅拌) evidence of water ice deposits in the debris (残骸) field.
The moon remains drier than any desert on Earth, but water is said to exist on the moon in very small quantities. Finding water on the moon would be a boon to possible future lunar bases, acting as a potential source of drinking water and fuel.