Lunar colonies take a step closer to reality as large amounts of water are found under the Moon's surface

Living on the Moon may be easier than first thought, after scientists discovered large amounts of water trapped beneath the surface.

It was generally assumed that the Moon was a fairly dry lump of rock, although ice still exists at the poles.

Both Nasa and the European Space Agency are keen to establish a lunar base to act as a stepping stone for the rest of the Solar System, and have been looking into whether water could be mined.

Researchers at Brown University in the US began to suspect there might be more water than previously thought after reexamining volcanic glass beads brought back by the Apollo 15 and 17 missions.

They discovered that the beads contain similar amounts of water as basalt rocks on Earth, suggesting that parts of the Moon’s crust contain as much water as our own planet.

Although it is only a small amount, around 0.5 per cent of the weight of the beads, such glassy deposits are large and abundant on the Moon, and the water could be extracted

“Other studies have suggested the presence of water ice in shadowed regions at the lunar poles, but the pyroclastic deposits are at locations that may be easier to access,” said Dr Shuai Li, formerly of Brown University, and now at the University of Hawaii.

“Anything that helps save future lunar explorers from having to bring lots of water from home is a big step forward, and our results suggest a new alternative."

The findings were also backed up using instruments on board India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter which measured light bounced off the Moon to see which minerals and other compounds are present.

The researchers found evidence of water in nearly all of the large volcanic deposits that had been previously mapped by astronauts across the Moon's surface. However it is still a mystery how it got there.

Dr Li added: “The growing evidence for water inside the Moon suggest that water did somehow survive, or that it was brought in shortly after the impact by asteroids or comets before the Moon had completely solidified.

“The exact origin of water in the lunar interior is still a big question.”

The research was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.