Chinese scientists have made an unusual discovery while analyzing the sample Chang'e-5 collected from the Moon's surface in December 2020.
They found naturally occurring "few-layer graphene" for the first time, as state-run news agency Global Times reports
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314711.shtml
which could have major implications for humankind's plans to make use of local resources once on the lunar surface.
However, the researchers admitted that meteorites may have still led to the formation of graphitic carbon on the Moon, as previous studies have suggested.
https://www.space.com/8693-stuff-pencils-discovered-moon.html
"Further in-depth property investigation of natural graphene would provide more information on the geologic evolution of the Moon," the team concluded.
The discovery could also offer new insights into the early geological evolution of the Moon. As the South China Morning Post reports
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3268064/graphene-find-chinas-change-5-moon-samples-challenges-lunar-origin-theory
it may even upend a long-held theory that the Moon was formed after a small planet collided with the Earth and that much of its carbon came from this impact