China's Moon discovery reveals hidden structures

China's Chang'e-4 lander touched down on the Moon's far side in January 2019. Using instruments including ground-penetrating radar, the mission collected subsurface profiles near its landing site. A team writing in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets reports the top roughly 130 feet (about 40 metres) of the surface is layered—alternating dust, soil and broken rock—and that a buried impact crater lies within those layers.

Beneath the buried crater the radar revealed five distinct layers of ancient lava flows that once spread across this region. These volcanic deposits date back billions of years, and analysis suggests lunar volcanic activity there stopped sometime between about one billion and one hundred million years ago. By mapping layering and composition, scientists aim to improve understanding of the Moon's thermal history, crust formation, and the timing and style of past eruptions.

Who did it? And what's their angle?

Every conspiracy theory pins one culprit and one motive on the same story. The same story can spawn any number of theories — different culprits, different motives. That's part of how you spot a conspiracy theory: the same event can be "explained" any number of ways.

You'll walk through the four moves on separate screens, with a debunk on every step.