For years, scientists have worked to uncover the mysteries of water on the moon. Now two new studies published in Nature Astronomy confirm that water may be found all over the lunar surface.

One study reports the first unambiguous evidence for water molecules clinging to or encapsulated within grains in the lunar soil on the sunlit swaths of the surface. The second study modeled small zones on the moon cast in permanent shadow and found that some 15,400 square miles—an area equivalent to nearly 7,500,000 football fields—are cold enough to harbor ice, about 20 percent more than once thought.

By investigating what forms of water linger on the lunar surface and where that water is, scientists hope to better understand