Lunar Scientists May Have Found New Water Deposits on Moon Along with Coldest Spot

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's seven scientific instruments have indeed confirmed the presence of large amounts of hydrogen -- a marker for water -- in permanently shadowed south pole craters, where scientists had known there were deposits of hydrogen. But the instruments have also found the element in regions where the sun shines, reports The Los Angeles Times.

NASA scientists said Thursday that this could mean water is buried underground. Water could not exist on the surface, where it is exposed to daytime temperatures as high as 220 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Richard Vondrak, project scientist for the mission, known as LRO.

Scientists also suggest that the coldest spot in the solar system may well be the Moon's South Pole while producing the first ever temperature map of the lunar surface. Temperatures there were measured at 397 degrees below zero. That's just 62 degrees higher than the lowest temperature possible, notes an AP story. That ultra-cold temperature is important because it can trap volatile chemicals, such as water and methane, said NASA probe project scientist Richard Vondrak with more from Science Daily.

The story of water on the Moon is related in MSNBC, The Scientific American, and The New York Times. Many believe a major finding of water at the Moon will be the necessary driver to bring human astronauts back to the lunar surface along with taikonauts and cosmonauts [sound track].