Pakistan’s inaugural lunar mission, iCube Qamar, achieved a milestone as it smoothly entered lunar orbit, announced Dr. Khurram Khurshid, a key member of the Institute of Space Technology (IST) team revealed on Wednesday.
The deployment, occurring at 1:14 pm PST on May 8th, marked a significant triumph for the project, as described by Dr. Khurshid.
With its successful deployment, the satellite is now poised to capture images of specific lunar terrains from its meticulously selected 12-hour elliptical orbit.
iCube Qamar commenced its journey aboard China’s Chang’e-6 from Hainan, China, on May 3rd.
Dr. Khurram had previously outlined that the Pakistani satellite, carried by China’s Long March-5 rocket, would attain lunar orbit within five days, embarking on a mission expected to span three to six months.
The satellite, a collaborative effort between IST, China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), and Pakistan’s Suparco, was meticulously designed and developed in Islamabad.
Equipped with two optical cameras, iCube Qamar joins China’s Chang’e-6 mission after rigorous testing and qualification.
This achievement underscores the expanding role of CubeSats, traditionally confined to low Earth orbits, in deep space exploration.
Navigating the challenges of communication and control in lunar orbits, iCube Qamar’s inclusion in the Chang’e-6 mission was made possible through collaboration with the China National Space Agency (CNSA) via the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO).
Among APSCO member states, Pakistan’s proposal stood out and was selected for this groundbreaking opportunity.
Led by faculty and students of IST, along with support from SJTU and Suparco, iCube Qamar boasts advanced features including two cameras for lunar surface imaging and Earth/moon observation, 3-axis altitude control, onboard computing, thermal regulation, and deep space network connectivity for data transmission.
