China’s Chang’e-4 was the first human vehicle to land on the far – and not “dark” – side of the Moon. Inside the vehicle, a cotton seed has sprouted, as part of a larger biological experiment, Xinhua reports: Chang’e-4 carries a canister with the seeds of five other biological species, including rapeseed, potato and even fruit fly eggs. It was supposed to be a tiny ecosystem, regulated by a heat control system; only the cotton started to grow, but didn’t survive the lunar night. “This is the first time humans have done biological growth experiments on the lunar surface,” says Xie Gengxin of Chongqinq University, the experiment’s chief designer. Previously, plants have been grown in orbit, in the International Space station, while rice was grown in Tiangong-2 chinese space lab. But the lunar environment is unique, with high levels of radiation, one-sixth of the gravity compared to Earth and extreme temperature variations.