Nasa finds water on the moon

A "significant amount" of frozen water has been found on the moon, the US space agency said yesterday, heralding a major leap forward in space exploration and boosting hopes of a permanent lunar base.

Preliminary data from a moon probe "indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater," Nasa said in a statement.

"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon," it added, as ecstatic scientists celebrated the landmark discovery.

The data was found after Nasa sent two spacecraft crashing into the lunar service last month in a dramatic experiment to probe Earth's nearest neighbor for water. One rocket slammed into the Cabeus crater, near the lunar southern pole, at around 9,000 kilometres per hour.

The impact sent a huge plume of material billowing up from the bottom of the crater, which has not seen sunlight for billions of years.

The rocket was followed four minutes later by a spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact.

"We are ecstatic," said Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the $79-million LCROSS mission.

"Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapour plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact.

"The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water," Prof. Colaprete said.