In a historic moment in the nation’s history, Pakistan’s inaugural satellite mission to the moon, iCube Qamar, has embarked on its journey into space today.
The satellite, hitching a ride aboard China’s Long March-5 rocket, commenced its voyage as part of the Chang’E6 mission from the Wenchang Space launch site in China’s Hainan province.
The launch event was broadcast live on the IST website and Chinese state television, marking a momentous occasion for Pakistan’s burgeoning space program.
Following the successful liftoff, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended heartfelt congratulations to the nation and the scientific community for achieving this significant feat in space exploration. He hailed the iCube-Q satellite mission as Pakistan’s inaugural step into the cosmos, highlighting the nation’s prowess in the domain of space technology akin to its achievements in nuclear science.
Acknowledging the dedication and expertise of Pakistani scientists, engineers, and skilled workers, Prime Minister Sharif paid tribute to the core committee of the Institute of Space Technology (IST), led by Dr. Khurram Khurshid, along with the collaborative efforts of SUPARCO and students involved in the project.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar lauded the collaborative spirit demonstrated in today’s launch, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in space exploration endeavors for mutual benefit.
Speaking to the media, Dr. Khurram Khurshid, a key member of the Core Committee at IST, revealed that Pakistan’s satellite mission is poised to reach lunar orbit within five days, where it will conduct extensive observations for a duration of three to six months. The mission aims to capture detailed images of the lunar surface to facilitate scientific research and exploration.
Designed and developed by IST in collaboration with Shanghai University of China and SUPARCO, the ICUBE-Q orbiter is equipped with two optical cameras to capture high-resolution images of the moon’s surface.
The integration of ICUBE-Q with China’s Chang’E6 mission marks a significant milestone in Pakistan’s space exploration journey, aligning with China’s broader lunar exploration initiatives. Chang’E6, the sixth mission in China’s lunar exploration series, is tasked with collecting surface samples from the moon’s far side for further research on Earth.
The successful launch of iCube Qamar represents a historic leap forward for Pakistan’s space program, opening new horizons for scientific discovery and technological innovation on the global stage.
heading is misleading, Pakistan may have contributed to it but Pakistan has not launched a lunar mission on its own. This was China’s program, China announced back in 2022 that member countries could contribute by sending their devices to the moon with us and the Institute of Space and Technology (IST) availed this opportunity. note that Pakistan’s space agency SUPARCO did not launch this nor did SUPARCO have any contribution in this mission.
Pakistan has not launched any lunar mission. One small micro satellite was added on the Chinese mission. Please stop misguiding our innocent public. It is China who launched that mission and Pakistan just availed a launch facility from China.