Islamabad, 10 May 2024(TDI): Pakistan’s first lunar satellite ICUBE-Q entered the moon’s orbit successfully today, a senior official of the country’s Institute of Space Technology (IST) confirmed, saying the “important” development could pave the way for “bigger” space missions for the country in the future.
The ICUBE-Qamar satellite carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface and weighs around 7kg.
People mainly launch CubeSats into low Earth orbit to observe the Earth, test new communications technology, or perform miniature experiments.
China launched Pakistan’s first lunar satellite aboard the Chang’e-6 probe on May 3.
The Chinese probe is tasked with landing on the far side of the moon, which perpetually faces away from the Earth, after which it will retrieve and return samples. China is the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.
“Our ICUBE-Q was deployed successfully in its orbit at 1:14 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time,” Dr. Khurram Khurshid, the head of the electrical engineering and computer science department at IST and a co-lead on the satellite project, told Arab News.
Dr. Khurshid said Pakistani officials will continue to test the satellite’s system for the next three to four days.
Moreover, He said initial tests revealed there were no complications with the CubeSat’s system.
The IST official said the development means Pakistan is officially in an exclusive club of countries that have conducted deep space missions.
“This is the first step, a step in the right direction,” Dr. Khurshid noted. “It can lead to bigger space missions, such as landing on the moon or various other experiments.”
Dr. Khurshid said Pakistan would be able to share images from the satellite by May 15. Around 100 students from IST contributed to developing the satellite.
Regional Satellite Collaboration
The China National Space Agency (CNSA) accepted Pakistan’s proposal to build the satellite from plans submitted by eight member states of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO).
Also read: Pakistani Satellite joins China’s Chang’e-6 Lunar Mission
Faculty members and students of the IST, in collaboration with China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and with support from Pakistan’s National Space Agency.
Moreover, SUPARCO, spearheaded the design, development, and qualification of the ICUBE-Q satellite.
The ICUBE-Q carries two cameras as payload to take images of the lunar surface, which it will transmit back to Earth for analysis.
