Chinese scientists have discovered graphene – a form of pure carbon – in lunar soil samples collected four years ago by the Chang’e-5 mission, a finding that could challenge a prevalent theory of the moon’s origin.
According to the Jilin University-led researchers, the presence of carbon challenges an assumption behind the commonly held view that the moon was formed in a collision between the Earth and another small planet.
“The prevalent giant impact theory has been strongly supported by the notion of [a] carbon-depleted moon derived from the early analysis of Apollo samples,” they said, in an unedited manuscript published online by the National Science Review.