Why is N. A. S. A. looking for WATER on the MOON?

Are you kidding?

Americans pay $5 for a cup of coffee.

Just think what you could charge for Evian Moon Water!

To better understand our universe.

Specifically for you to ask a question about it on EP.

Pure science. Increasing our knowledge is worth the paltry sums that are spent on research.
Research often goes in unexpected directions and yield results that don't pay immediate dividends. We celebrate the renaissance of the 1400's as a time of inquiry and growth and then pinch pennies on research in our own time.

Answer:

Water when broken down into it's parts can be used as Rocket fuel. (H20 = Two parts Hydrogen and one part Oxygen)

Once a large supply of rocket fuel can be sourced, manned missions to Mars etc are more likely. Especially on a planet when it's gravity is so low, the initial launch will use vastly less fuel then it currently does here on Earth.

Thus, limitless fuel, low gravity, means easy launches of larger (much larger) rockets, payloads and space ships (and I do mean this in the real space ship sense).

It makes good sense to start a base on the Moon for this reasoning.

They were actually testing a bunker buster bomb, to take out iranian nuke sites.

They want to set up a moon base there. I hold issue with this for two reasons:

1. It's bloody science fiction. "Oooh we're space cadets, let's go build our moon base and have magical space adventures!" GROW UP, NASA.

2. It won't be so much a moon base as an arms depot. Seriously, the Military would probably use the moon as a storage area for missiles. The moon will become like a real-world Death Star: We don't like a country? Well, we'll just wait for the moon to move over their country and then fire a nuclear warhead at them!

Urgh. I agree. We should stick to research here on Earth.

So when they go to the moon they don't have to lug water with them it will already be there
Bout stupid don't ya think

Beats me, thought we're all gonna be drowning soon with global warming.

because earth is getting overpopulated and while the moon is not suitable for creating a place for people to live permanently scientists believe it may be possible to terraform Mars and create a planet where human life COULD exist. the moon would be a good launch site for these terraforming missions. as AIUI said the water could be broken down into rocket fuel andthe launch of bigger craft would be possible