In a historic event, Pakistan launched its first-ever satellite mission to the moon on Friday, May 3, with iCube Qamar.
iCube Qamar satellite has been launched on board with China’s Chang’E6 from Hainan, China.
As per Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology (IST), the ICUBE-Q satellite has been designed and advanced with the joint collaboration of Shanghai University (SJTU), China and Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
Dr Khurram Khurshid, a member of the Core Committee at IST, told Geo News that Pakistan satellite is being carries by China’s Long March-5 rocket and it will reach the lunar orbit in five days and will circle around the moon for three to six months.
ICube-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface.
Khurshid further informed that different pictures of the surface of the moon will be taken with the help of satellites, after which Pakistan will have its own satellite images of the moon for research.
Moreover, China’s Chang’E6 is the sixth in the series of China’s lunar exploration.
This lunar mission will touch down on the moon’s far side to collect samples from the surface of the moon and return to Earth for research.
For unversed, China became the first and only country to land on the moon’s far side during its 2019 Chan’e4 mission.
