Pakistan’s space program on Friday launched its first-ever lunar orbiter, the ICUBE Qamar, aboard China’s Chang’e-6 mission, marking a historic milestone for Islamabad.
Telecast live from the Institute of Space Technology (IST)’s website, as well as Chinese state television, the lift-off brings to culmination a two-year project launched after the China National Space Agency (CNSA)—through the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO)—offered member states the chance to send a student-built payload to the moon aboard the Chang’e-6 mission.
Students of the IST submitted the proposal for the ICUBE Qamar, competing with students of several others countries including Bangladesh and Turkiye, and were selected after an evaluation process. Students and faculty of the IST; the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO); and China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University then jointly developed the payload.
According to the IST, the payload comprises three parts—a CubeSat, a separation mechanism and a mounting bracket that combined weigh around 7kg. It also has two cameras to take images of the lunar surface, as well as other sensors and apparatuses for deep-space communication, altitude controls, and other functions.
Following the successful launch, the orbiter would take approximately five days to reach the moon, when the ICUBE Qamar would be deployed into lunar orbit. Following the separation, the satellite would commence transmissions to the Earth, which would confirm the orbiter is working satisfactorily. As part of its transmissions, the orbiter would take pictures of the Earth and the moon. It would also collect data on the lunar magnetic field and establish a lunar magnetic field model.
Speaking with Geo News, a member of the Core Committee at the IST, Khurram Khurshid, said the orbiter would circle the moon for 3-6 months. He said the pictures obtained by ICUBE Qamar would provide Pakistan with its own satellite images of the moon for research for the very first time.