The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the moon. Water was previously thought to exist only on the cold, shadowed areas of the moon. This new discovery suggests that much more of the lunar surface may contain water, according to a NASA release. The water was discovered in Clavius Crater, one of the moon's oldest and largest craters, measuring 231 km in diameter - about the length of the U.S. state of Vermont. Previous surveys of the crater had detected hydrogen, but they were unable to distinguish between water and hydroxyl, which is chemically similar. New technological innovations- such as an aerial telescope carried by plane- have enabled more precise measurements of lunar water. What forces deliver or create the water, however, remain unknown.
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