First negative ion detector on the Moon

The Chang'e-6 lander, topped with an ascent vehicle, imaged by a small rover on the lunar far side. The Chinese spacecraft touched down in a huge crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

The green square highlights the location of the NILS experiment aboard the spacecraft, the first ESA instrument on the surface of the Moon.

The European team working with the Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument confirmed the success of their scientific mission. The first ESA instrument to land on the Moon detected the presence of negative ions on the lunar surface produced through interactions with the solar wind.