“Finding so much more water could make living on the Moon much easier in the future,” commented Dr Chris Welch, astronautics and space systems expert at Kingston University London’s Faculty of Engineering. “Water is very heavy and to have to launch it into space would be difficult and expensive. If there is water on the moon - in whatever form - then we have a potential reservoir that could be used for drinking or to make into hydrogen and oxygen which could be used as rocket propellant. Also, of course, we could use the oxygen to breathe,” he explained.

The water in question is not in the form of liquid, as we’re used to, but instead is in the form of a very fine film which covers the soil on the Moon.

While groundbreaking, Dr Welch - winner of the 2009 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Achievement in Space Education - does not believe the new findings show there is or could once have been life on the Moon. 

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