IRIA News

Pakistan launched its first lunar mission ICUBE-Q on May 3, 2024, aboard China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province of China. Described as Pakistan’s “first step into space,” the lunar mission marks a significant moment for Pakistan’s space endeavors.

“Pakistan’s historic lunar mission ICUBE-Qamar (ICUBE-Q) has been successfully launched today 3rd May 2024 at 1417hrs PST,” according to a statement by the Institute of Space Technology (IST), which designed and developed ICUBE-Q in collaboration with a Chinese university and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

The statement recognized and thanked the researchers and around 100 IST students for their significant contributions to the project.

China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe launch drew a distinguished audience, including scientists, diplomats, and space agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency, all of whom have contributed payloads for lunar study aboard Chang’e-6, launched by China’s most powerful carrier rocket, the Long March 5.

Chang’e-6 carries four international payloads and satellites, including a radon detector from France, European Space Agency’s lunar surface ion composition analyzer, a laser angle reflector from Italy and a CubeSat from Pakistan, according to China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Pakistan’s first lunar satellite

China’s Chang’e-6 mission also carried a Pakistani lunar satellite, the ICUBE-Q, marking Pakistan’s first step toward lunar exploration. Islamabad-based Institute of Space Technology (IST) announced that Pakistan’s “historic” lunar module iCube-Q has been developed in collaboration with China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

Chairman of Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) Mohammad Yousuf Khan called the mission a “milestone” for Pakistan, laying the groundwork for the development of space sciences in Pakistan.

Congratulations! Pakistan’s first ever moon satellite #ICUBEQ has been successfully launched, riding the same rocket with China’s #ChangE6 lunar probe. This is also the 1st 🇨🇳🇵🇰 cooperation on lunar exploration. We look forward to more in the near future! @PresOfPakistan pic.twitter.com/GUHE5Fja3f

— Chinese Emb Pakistan (@CathayPak) May 3, 2024

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the nation on the successful launch of Pakistan’s maiden lunar mission. “ICUBE-Qamar satellite is Pakistan’s first step into space,” Sharif said in a statement. “This is a very historic moment in the journey of technological development, with this important achievement Pakistan has entered a new era of purposeful use of space.”

The prime minister expressed gratitude to China for collaborating with Pakistan on its first lunar mission. He said that Pakistan and China’s friendship, which was “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the ocean, and sweeter than honey” had now “crossed the frontiers of space”.

ICUBE-Q Mission

The project comprises three main components: the CubeSat, the separation mechanism (including power control box), and the mounting bracket. Weighing approximately 7 kg, ICUBE-Q is equipped with two optical cameras for lunar surface imaging, along with systems for attitude control, thermal management, and deep-space communication.

The cameras are designed to capture images of the lunar surface and transmit them back to Earth for research and analysis.

The primary mission objectives include successful CubeSat separation into lunar orbit from the Chang’e-6 Orbiter and recording the release process using the Orbiter camera. Secondary objectives involve receiving a beacon signal from ICUBE-Q to confirm its operational success.

The module, known as a CubeSat, is a type of miniature satellite distinguished by its small size and standardized cubic design. Its primary purpose is to facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration. Because of their compact dimensions and relatively lower costs compared to traditional satellites, CubeSats have provided opportunities for universities, research institutions, and commercial entities to engage in space missions and collect valuable data for scientific progress and innovation.

Chinese Chang’e-6 probe

The Chang’e-6 probe, China’s most advanced robotic lunar mission yet, was launched using the Long March-5 Y8 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island in southern China. Several space enthusiasts gathered at the site to witness this historic event. China’s National Space Administration, which broadcasted the event through a livestream, confirmed the launch as a successful endeavor.

“The Chang’e-6 aims to achieve breakthroughs in the design and control technology of the moon’s retrograde orbit, intelligent sampling, take-off and ascent technologies, and automatic sample return on the far side of the moon,” Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Center of Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering said before the launch.

🚀🎉 Congratulations to Chang’e 6 on a successful launch! Equipped with an international suite of instruments including France’s DORN, which is designed to measure radon on the Moon’s surface, this mission is a prime example of how multinational cooperation propels lunar… pic.twitter.com/uD5KAXwHGo

— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) May 3, 2024

The Chang’e-6 mission will land at South Pole-Aitken Bason on the far side of the moon. The mission is tasked with collecting and returning samples from the moon’s mysterious far side for research purpose. CNSA said that this is the first endeavor of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration.

China’s space ambitions

China has made swift strides in space exploration in recent years, historically dominated by the United States and Russia. The Chang’e-6 probe marks a significant milestone for China’s space race with the U.S. and other Western powers, as Beijing strives to fulfill President Xi Jinping’s vision of establishing the nation as a space superpower.

Initiated in 2007 and named after the Chinese mythological moon goddess, the Chang’e program enabled China to accomplish the first robotic lunar landing in nearly four decades in 2013. Furthermore, in 2022, China successfully constructed its orbital space station, known as the Tiangong.

The technical complexities of the Chang’e-6 mission have been built upon China’s previous lunar missions, particularly the Chang’e-4 mission, which landed on the far side of the moon in 2019, and the Chang’e-5 mission, which successfully brought back samples from the near side of the moon in 2020.
The probe consists of four basic components, an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a reentry module. For communication with Earth while on the moon’s far side, Chang’e-6 relies on the Queqiao-2 satellite, which was launched into lunar orbit in March this year.

The mission’s objective is for the Chang’e-6 lander to collect moon dust and rocks from the vast South Pole-Aitken basin, a lunar crater that spans roughly 2,500 kilometers in diameter and was formed approximately 4 billion years ago. Subsequently, an ascender spacecraft will transport the samples to the lunar orbiter and then back to Earth for analysis.