Preliminary data from a Moon probe "indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater," Nasa said.
"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the Moon," it added in a statement.
The data was found after Nasa sent two spacecraft crashing into the lunar surface last month in a dramatic experiment to probe for water.
One rocket slammed into the Cabeus crater, near the Moon's southern pole, at around 5,600mph.
It was followed four minutes later by a spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact.
Mission was launched in October
"We are ecstatic," said Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the LCROSS mission.
"Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapor plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact.
"The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water."
Scientists had previously theorized that, except for the possibility of ice at the bottom of craters, the moon was totally dry.
Finding water on Earth's natural satellite is a major breakthrough in space exploration.
"We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbour and, by extension, the solar system," said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at Nasa headquarters in Washington. ( sky.com )
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