China discovers naturally occurring carbon nanotubes in lunar soil

Researchers from Jilin University have discovered naturally occurring single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in lunar soil samples returned by China’s 2024 Chang’e-6 mission from the Moon’s far side. Previously, these complex nanostructures—cylindrical carbon molecules just one atom thick—were thought to be producible only in controlled laboratory environments using vacuum chambers, precise temperatures, and metal catalysts. This finding provides the first definitive evidence that nature can spontaneously create such advanced nanomaterials, highlighting the Moon’s chemically dynamic environment. The study explains that these nanotubes formed through extreme lunar processes, including micrometeorite impacts, volcanic activity, and solar wind irradiation. High-speed impacts vaporized carbon from solar wind and meteorites, and as the vapor cooled rapidly, iron particles acted as catalysts to assemble the carbon atoms into single-walled nanotubes rather than ordinary soot. This natural synthesis suggests that the Moon’s surface acts as a nanofactory under harsh conditions, potentially enabling