While hints that the Moon is not an entirely arid wasteland have existed for decades, this discovery is one of the most important breakthroughs since NASA's orbiters found evidence of frozen water in deep, steep-sided craters near the Moon's poles. The discovery could one day help future astronauts produce drinking water and breathable air, as well as manufacture rocket fuel on the Moon's surface, enabling sustainable surface operations with decreasing supply needs from Earth.
This study fills some gaps in the theories surrounding a lunar water cycle. However, there are likely better places for astronauts to harvest water for practical purposes. With scientists theorizing that there may be large deposits of water ice at the Moon's poles, as NASA prepares to return to the Moon it is essential to focus scientific efforts on exploring the Moon's polar regions, which seem to have a lot of water mixed in with the regolith.