ISLAMABAD: Today, Pakistan’s first moon mission satellite, iCube Qamar, will launch from China’s Hainan province aboard China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft.
Dr Khurram Khurshid, a member of the Core Committee at the Institute of Space Technology (IST), said the satellite will leave for the space mission at 2:18pm, according to Pakistan time.
The launch activity will be telecast live on the IST website at 12:50pm.
Speaking with Geo News, Dr Khurshid said that Pakistan’s satellite mission will reach the lunar orbit in five days and will circle around the moon for three to six months.
He added that different pictures of the surface of the moon will be taken with the help of satellite after which Pakistan will have its own satellite images of the moon for research.
The satellite has been designed and developed by the IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.
The ICUBE-Q spacecraft, which has two cameras to take pictures of the moon’s surface, has passed its tests and is now part of the Chang’e6 mission. Chang’e6 is the sixth mission in China’s series of moon explorations.
Chang’6, China’s Lunar Mission will touch down on the moon’s far side to collect samples from the surface and return to earth for research.
The mission holds significance for Pakistan as it will also take a Pakistan CubeSat Satellite iCube-Q, developed by IST.
CubeSats are tiny satellites that are small and shaped like cubes. They’re made up of different parts that fit together like building blocks, and they all have to follow certain size rules.
These satellites often weigh no more than a few kilogrammes and are deployed in space for various purposes.
The primary purpose of CubeSats is to facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration.
Source: GEO
