As scientists inspected the soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 probe, which landed the lunar surface in 2020, they realized something groundbreaking: There was water found along with minerals in the soil.

Finding water on the moon is nothing new. NASA has previously spotted what they believe to be water on the moon’s surface. However, this latest discovery is the first time water is in its molecular form, H2O.

This type of water could be a potential “resource for lunar habitation,” the scientists wrote in their study.

“The discovery of a hydrated mineral at the Chang’e-5 landing site is fascinating and will further enhance our understanding of rock-vapor reactions in the lunar crust and on the lunar surface,” said David A. Kring, principal scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Texas.

According to Yuqi Qian, a planetary geologist at the University of Hong Kong, there are three types of water that can exist on the moon: There are water molecules, the compound we know as H2O; its frozen form, ice; and a molecular compound called hydroxyl, a close chemical relative.

“I think it has lots of potential, this new finding that we can extract molecular water directly from lunar soils,” Qian said. “I think this is a new mechanism to make molecular water stable on the lunar surface.”

The Chang'e 5 mission, named for a Chinese goddess of the moon, was the fifth in a series of Chinese missions to the moon. Chang'e 5 landed on the lunar surface to scoop up material before returning to Earth with its cargo in December 2020.