It’s official, folks! NASA announced today that their Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) has successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. They made the official announcement at a press conference held today.

You may recall that the LCROSS craft and a similar rocket both made impacts in the Cabeus crater on October 9. Those impacts created a plume of material which not seen sunlight in billions of years. It’s through this impact material that scientists at NASA were able to make this incredible (and incredibly historic!) find.

NASA is understandably pleased with the findings.

Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA

“We’re unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbor and, by extension, the solar system. The moon harbors many secrets, and LCROSS has added a new layer to our understanding.”

The findings by the LCROSS are shedding new light about the source of high quantities of hydrogen that have been found at the lunar polls.

From NASA Press Statement

“If the water that was formed or deposited is billions of years old, these polar cold traps could hold a key to the history and evolution of the solar system, much as an ice core sample taken on Earth reveals ancient data.”

Even more important, especially to the geeks, the water and other compounds found are potential resources that could help to sustain lunar exploration (and could a lunar colony actually be in humanity’s future?!) The possibilities that arise out of this discovery are astounding.

For the full story, check out BNOnews.com.

It’s one of those days as a geek, that I’m glad to be around to see.