ESA and China Space Agency , Collaboration Detects Negative Ions , on Dark Side of Moon.<br />China's Chang'e-6 lunar lander landed on the <br />dark side of the Moon, successfully gathered <br />samples and lifted off in just over 48 hours. .<br />'Futurism' reports that the historic feat resulted in the <br />first-ever samples collected from the far side of the <br />Moon, which permanently faces away from the Earth.<br />The trip also saw the lander deposit several scientific <br />payloads, including the Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface <br />(NILS) instrument for the European Space Agency.<br />This was ESA’s first activity on the <br />surface of the Moon, a world-first <br />scientifically, and a first lunar <br />cooperation with China, Neil Melville, ESA’s technical officer for the experiment, via 'Futurism'.<br />The moon's lack of a magnetic field makes <br />the surface extremely vulnerable to charged solar <br />particles, which create negatively charged ions. .<br />Before it could make its observations, the NILS instrument <br />had to be adjusted to the extreme lunar surface conditions, <br />going through a cycle of reboots and blackouts.<br />Once it adjusted, the instrument detected negative ions <br />from solar winds bombarding the Moon's surface and <br />successfully transmitted back usable data.<br />We have collected an <br />amount and quality of data<br />far beyond our expectations, Neil Melville, ESA’s technical officer for the experiment, via 'Futurism'.<br />'Futurism' explains that the data could have significant <br />implications for our understanding of how our celestial <br />neighborhood deals without having a magnetic field. .<br />These observations on the Moon will <br />help us better understand the surface<br />environment and act as a pathfinder <br />to explore negative ion populations <br />in other airless bodies in the <br />Solar System, from planets to <br />asteroids and other moons, Martin Wieser, NILS principal investigator, via 'Futurism'
