Researchers from Jilin University identified single-walled carbon nanotubes in soil samples brought back from the far side of the moon by China\u2019s 2024 Chang\u2019e-6 mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until now, it was believed that these carbon nanotubes could only be made in high-tech laboratories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The structural complexity of these single-atom-thick cylinders was previously believed to be unattainable through spontaneous natural phenomena.\u00a0<\/p>\n
South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that it is the first definitive evidence that nature can build these advanced nanostructures on its own.<\/p>\n
This showcases how future space missions might process local soil into advanced materials for deep-space exploration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study presents the first identification of graphitic carbon in lunar samples taken by Chang\u2019E-6 (CE-6) mission from the far side of the Moon, which was observed through multiple spectroscopy and microscopy techniques at identical locations,\u201d the researchers noted in the study paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Extreme moon conditions <\/p>\n
These structures were first synthesized in labs in the 1990s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Earth, creating these tubes required vacuum chambers, precise temperature control, and specific metal catalysts such as nickel or cobalt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The material possesses strength and conductivity, properties that make it vital for advanced technologies like touchscreens and high-efficiency batteries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the Moon<\/a>, the nanotubes were formed from a violent process. It was likely triggered by the intense heat from micrometeorite impacts, volcanic activity, and solar wind.<\/p>\n \u201cSpecifically, single-walled CNTs were identified in the CE-6 lunar samples, which were formed through micrometeorite impacts and an Fe-driven catalysis process under early volcanic activities and solar wind irradiation on the lunar surface,\u201d the study explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n In-situ space resource use<\/p>\n Researchers used high-resolution microscopy to pinpoint single-walled carbon nanotubes within tiny fragments of lunar soil<\/a>, specifically clustered around micrometeorite impact scars. <\/p>\n These structures formed when high-speed impacts vaporized carbon from the solar wind and meteorites<\/a>; as this gas cooled rapidly, local iron particles acted as catalysts, knitting the atoms into tubes rather than forming ordinary soot.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was known that multi-layered carbon nanotubes occur naturally on Earth within coal, ice, and fire ash, formed by rapid cooling. But their simpler yet more delicate single-walled counterparts were long thought to be impossible to form without human intervention.\u00a0<\/p>\n The presence of lunar soil proves that extreme space environments can act as natural nanofactories, potentially paving the way for using lunar resources to build future electronics.<\/p>\n If these nanotubes are already there, future lunar colonists might not need to bring expensive sensors or battery components from Earth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe detected carbon and the formation pathway elucidated a further in situ application of the lunar soil, laying the foundation for deep space exploration and lunar resource use,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n