https://j.people.com.cn/n3/2025/0616/c95952-20328176.html

Professor Wang Qingwei of Donghua University and colleagues have used 500 milligrams of lunar soil brought back by the lunar probe Chang’e 5, and created simulated lunar soil based on its components and properties. When melted at high temperatures of 1400-1500 degrees Celsius, they succeeded in creating ultra-fine fibers with a diameter of just 10-20 micrometers using vacuum towing technology. Simulating the environment of the moon’s surface, (unmanned, vacuum and low gravity), they developed a device that can automatically mold fibers from lunar soil.

The Donghua University team achieved three technological breakthroughs:

• in terms of energy utilization, they were the first to successfully create simulated lunar soil fibers by utilizing the solar energy that is abundant on the moon’s surface and the characteristics of direct current electricity.
• they overcame unknown challenges in selecting equipment materials, handling high-temperature molten materials and heat transfer, and achieved fiber drawing in a vacuum environment for the first time
• the automated molding process for lunar soil fiber was also attempted for the first time. The developed device is equipped with an automatic towing mechanism, and automatic molding is possible by precisely controlling the temperature, viscosity of the molten material, and towing speed.