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- May 3, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
The Chang’e-6 lunar mission, which was launched from Hainan, China, on Friday, will include a Pakistani satellite in an unprecedented lunar orbit. Moon research payloads from several nations, including Pakistan’s iCube Qamar satellite, will be used in the mission, which seeks to investigate the moon’s “black side.” China’s Shanghai University (SJTU) and Pakistan’s national space agency Suparco collaborated to create the “historic” lunar module iCube-Q, which will be carried by Chang’e-6, according to a statement released by the Institute of Space Technology (IST) on Tuesday.
Chang’e, the mission name, is derived from the name of a legendary Chinese moon goddess. To gather about two kilograms of lunar samples from the Moon’s far side and return them to Earth for examination, Chang’e-6 is being built. It was praised by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua as “the first endeavor of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration.” Ge Ping, vice director of China’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, informed reporters that Chang’e-6 would be gathering samples from the Moon’s far side for the first time.
In the next few days, China will launch a robotic spacecraft on the first of three technically challenging missions to the moon’s far side, which would prepare the way for the country’s first crewed landing and establishment of a station on the lunar South Pole. One of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, the vast South Pole-Aitken Basin, is where the probe is scheduled to land. Once there, it will conduct additional tests in the landing zone and gather rocks and soil from the moon. To complete its 53-day mission, which includes a previously untried ascent from the moon’s “hidden” side upon return, Chang’e-6 must rely on a recently launched relay satellite orbiting the moon because it has no direct line of sight with Earth.
China is carrying payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan on Chang’e-6, while Russia, Switzerland, and Thailand will be carrying payloads on Chang’e-7, which is scheduled to launch in 2026. US law prohibits NASA from working directly or indirectly with China. The US astronauts will land close to the South Pole in 2026 as part of the independent Artemis mission run by NASA, making history as the first humans to set foot on the moon since 1972.
Two optical cameras are carried by the iCube-Q spacecraft to take pictures of the lunar surface. The module is a cube satellite or CubeSat. CubeSats are tiny spacecraft that are characterized by a uniform cubic design and compact size. Owing to their small size and very low cost in comparison to conventional satellites, CubeSats provided universities, research centers, and commercial organizations with chances to take part in space missions and collect important data for innovation and scientific advancement.
Pakistan’s first lunar mission was successfully launched, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated the country. The Pakistani president praised IST, Suparco, and the China National Space Administration for their recent achievement. According to Radio Pakistan, he hailed the launch as a significant milestone for Pakistan’s space program. The president also applauded China and Pakistan for their aerospace cooperation. PM Shehbaz praised Pakistani scientists and engineers for “proving their mettle… like the expertise they exhibited in the nuclear technology [program]” and referred to the iCube-Q satellite as “Pakistan’s first step in space.”
The friendship between China and Pakistan, which the prime minister claimed to be “deeper than the ocean, sweeter than honey, and higher than the Himalayas,” has now “crossed the frontiers of space.” The premiere witnessed the mission launch in real-time. He said that Pakistan’s scientists and professionals were recognized for their abilities when their mission was accepted by eight other countries. This marks a significant turning point in technological advancement. The prime minister said, “With this accomplishment, Pakistan has ushered in a new era of space exploration for productive purposes.
According to PM Shehbaz, the achievement will not only create new opportunities for national security, economic growth, and scientific research, but it will also help Pakistan increase its capacity in satellite communications. “Our sons of soil have demonstrated that they possess the aptitude, enthusiasm, and knowledge necessary to explore space.” As it did on May 28, 1998, in the area of nuclear technology, Pakistan will hopefully also attain greatness in the domains of space and the economy. According to him, Pakistan would “join the comity of nations playing a leading role in the sector” once it achieves its goal of being self-sufficient in the communications infrastructure.
To guarantee that Pakistan attained “excellence” in the field of inventions, the prime minister reaffirmed the country’s commitment to supporting the country’s youth in the aforementioned domains, calling for advancements in modern sciences, science and technology, and skill development. Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister and deputy prime minister, used X to “congratulate the young Pakistani scientists and students on the launch” of the lunar expedition. “Today’s launch from Hainan…is an excellent illustration of nations and organizations uniting for space cooperation and mutual benefits,” he continued.