'Moon garden' a success for Chang'e probe

Experiment marks first time live matter has been grown on the lunar surface

The "moon garden" onboard the Chang'e 4 probe has ended its operation as planned, and the data it collected will be "invaluable in improving the experiment and possibly make the moon habitable for humans", the project's chief engineer said.

Xie Gengxin, dean of the Institute of Advanced Technology at Chongqing University and chief designer of the experiment, told China Daily on Friday that the experiment was not meant to last over the lunar night, so they terminated their roughly 9-day test on Jan 12. China National Space Administration confirmed on Friday that the experiment had stopped.