At a Glance

Scientists have found definitive proof of water ice on the moon for the first time.Much of the ice is located near the north and south poles in the shadows of craters.The scientists say this could be key for lengthy missions to the moon in the future.

For the first time ever, NASA scientists have confirmed the presence of water ice on the moon, near both its north and south poles.

The findings, inthe Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said definitive evidence has been found that frozen water exists in several locations on Earth's satellite. UsingNASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument, the team of scientists confirmed what they'd long believed – water exists in some form on the moon.

"With enough ice sitting at the surface – within the top few millimeters – water would possibly be accessible as a resource for future expeditions to explore and even stay on the moon, and potentially easier to access than the water detected ," said NASA officials in a statement.

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Surface ice distributions are seen on the moon's south (left) and north poles (right), as seen by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument. The ice locations are seen in blue.

(NASA)

Most of the water ice discovered during the study was found in the shadows of craters near the poles, where temperatures hardly ever reach minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit, the statement also said. This is because of the moon's tilt, which doesn't allow sunlight to reach those areas.

The scientists hope to further study the origins of this water before it gets used by future space travelers.

"The results ," Ian Crawford,a planetary scientist at Birkbeck, University of London who was not affiliated with the study, told Scientific American.

The M3 instrument is aboard the Indian spacecraftChandrayaan-1, which , according to NBC News.