China found something strange on far side of moon no one ever saw occur naturally before

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Ling XinJanuary 22, 2026 at 02:00 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Chinese scientists have discovered single-layer carbon nanotubes on the far side of the moon, a material previously believed to require human engineering to produce. The discovery was made in samples collected by China's Chang'e-6 mission in 2024, the first probe to retrieve samples from the moon's far side. Researchers from Jilin University identified the nanotubes using high-resolution electron microscopes. Their analysis suggests the structures likely formed due to extreme conditions caused by micrometeorite impacts, solar wind, and volcanic activity. This finding, published in Nano Letters, provides the first confirmed evidence that single-layer carbon nanotubes can form naturally, resolving a long-standing debate.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Jilin University 50% Earth 60% Chang'e-6 70% Moon ×280% China ×290%

Keywords

carbon nanotubes 100% far side of the moon 90% natural formation 80% chang'e-6 mission 70% micrometeorite impacts 60% volcanic activity 50% solar wind 50% single-layer nanotubes 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.40

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

carbon nanotubes far side of the moon natural formation chang'e-6 mission micrometeorite impacts volcanic activity solar wind single-layer nanotubes

Explore Full Topic Graph