Experts have said that the presence of hydroxide ions on the surface as well as below it will prove helpful in maintaining long term settlement on Moon.

The scientists found the negatively charged molecules that are identical to water except for missing one hydrogen atom. Researchers that the presence of these molecules means that water could be extracted to sustain humans on the Moon.

The discovery was made by researchers when they examined a basalt rock underlying the moon's surface which was formed by lava flows billions of years ago. The rock was brought to earth by the 1971 Apollo 14 mission.

After applying scanning techniques the researchers found hydrogen in the form of hydroxide in a mineral known as apatite.

"If you heat up the apatite, the hydroxyl ions will "decompose" and come out as water," said Professor George Rossman, of the California Institute of Technology.

The team of researchers who published a study in Nature confirmed that there is strong evidence of water being present in the interior of the moon. The team says that this establishes a closer relationship between the Moon and the Earth.

If the scientists are able to device a method to extract water from the lunar rocks on moon for drinking and for fuel, the human settlement could be imagined soon.