Scientists have confirmed that the Moon contains water, overturning decades of assumptions that it was completely dry. Most of the known water is concentrated around the lunar South Pole, where permanently shadowed craters contain ancient ice deposits that have remained frozen for billions of years. Water has also been detected in the Moon’s regolith, though only in tiny amounts. Extracting it will be challenging because of the extreme cold, rugged terrain and technological demands. Future lunar missions hope to tap these resources, which could provide drinking water for astronauts and be split into hydrogen and oxygen for breathing systems and rocket fuel, reducing reliance on supplies from Earth.