There is water on the moon, NASA scientists said Friday.

“Yes, we found water,” said Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator for NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), a mission that culminated in a spectacular crash on the surface of the moon about a month ago.

For years, scientists have been tantalized by the prospect that water ice lurks in craters near the poles of the moon, places where the sun never shines and temperatures perpetually hover hundreds of degrees below zero. A decade ago, the Lunar Prospector orbiter caught a whiff of hydrogen, which may or may not have been evidence of that ice.

Now, thanks to LCROSS, the verdict is finally in. Not only does water exist on the moon, but it has been uncovered by the bucketful — about 24 gallons’ worth. It was the intentional crash of the mission — in two separate stages — on Oct. 9 that made the discovery possible. The first piece of LCROSS slammed into the floor of a crater called Cabeus, some 60 miles from the moon’s south pole, excavating a hole more than 60 ft. across and sending up a plume of pulverized material about 6 miles wide. Then, about four minutes later, the second part of the craft smashed down — but not before its instruments analyzed the dust cloud to see what it was made of.

Read More: Time Magazine