Pakistan's iCube Qamar Lunar Mission Successfully Deployed
Pakistan achieved a major milestone in its space program on May 8th when its iCube Qamar orbiter successfully entered lunar orbit at 1:14 pm PST-ish. The mission is indeed a milestone achievement for the Suparco Space Agency and all of its collaborators within it.
iCube Qamar spacecraft has been put into orbit on May 3rd where it was launched as secondary mission alongside China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission. The main task of the instrument is to take optical pictures from orbit by using two cameras that are installed on board. The satellite will orbit the moon with an elliptic course, making the orbiting one cycle per 12 hours.
The lead researcher, Dr. Khurram Khurshid, of the Institute of Space Technology (IST), confirmed this of the Chang’e-6 spacecraft orbiter’s successful deployment. He pointed out the work of the team, which included IST, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Suparco, who jointly made possible this success.
The choosing iCube Qamar for the China’s mission also shows that Pakistan is progressively building up its capabilities in space exploration. For example, the tiny spacecraft like iCube Qamar has started becoming a real asset within the framework of space research.
The smart team at IST, which includes professors and students as members, ensured that the satellite had all the necessary characteristics and instruments to carry out its mission. For example, these can be cameras, communications equipment, and attitude systems control. According to the data acquired by the iCube Qamar, we are going to see a big breakthrough in our knowledge about the moon.
