The presence of water found on the moon is of no direct significance for life on Earth or for the probability of finding life elsewhere in the solar system. The water which NASA found is in the permanently shaded areas near the crater wall at the lunar pole. This water is from the small fraction of impacts of icy fragments which happened to hit where the sun never heats up the lunar surface.

However, what this finding is significant for is the feasibility of building a moon base. Water is obviously needed for such things as drinking and bathing, but with solar power, water can also be used to provide oxygen for breathing where no atmosphere exists. This is significant, because carrying enough water and oxygen from the Earth to the moon for extended stays on the lunar surface would be a major expense, greatly reducing the feasibility of a moon base.

As to whether or not a permanent human presence on the moon is a good thing or not, it has been our experience that efforts of this type (e.g. first putting a man on the moon in 1969) tend to fuel a tremendous amount of spin-off technology that helps society at large. Extending our view beyond the day-to-day existence on our own planet also tends to put many things in proper perspective, gradually leading to a more global viewpoint being adopted by many on Earth, as opposed to the type of parochial viewpoint that separates us from one another.

The bottom line is that finding water on the moon, even in relatively small amounts, can have a profound positive long-term impact.

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