China has named a crater on the far side of the moon after the pioneering Chinese-American scientist Chien-Shiung Wu.

An article shared on Chinese social media by a state-owned aerospace company speculated that Wu must have made some “extremely special and great contributions” that were not known to the public but had “never been forgotten by the nation” to receive the accolade.

“This kind of honour, which will go down in history and has great political significance, will not be given easily to ordinary scientists [especially those of foreign nationality],” the article shared by Chang’e Aerospace Science and Technology (Beijing) last week said.

So far there is no evidence suggesting that Wu has played any role in Chinese defence-related technology.