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In a historic moment for the country’s space program, Pakistan on Friday successfully launched its first-ever lunar mission aboard China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The iCUBE-Q CubeSat, a collaboration between Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology, China’s Shanghai University, and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO, lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s Hainan province at around 5:27 pm local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The launch was successful,” confirmed Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan’s top diplomat in Beijing, who stated that the iCUBE-Q orbiter will be “deployed in Moon orbit on 8 May.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The small satellite carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface, contributing to scientific research and technology development for space exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking ahead of the launch, Hashmi said, “This is a historic moment for Pakistan as we embark on our first-ever lunar mission.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chang’e 6 mission, China’s latest robotic lunar exploration endeavor, will also carry payloads from several other countries, including the European Space Agency, France, and Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This international collaboration demonstrates the growing cooperation in space activities among different nations,” said a representative from the China National Space Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The successful launch marks a significant milestone for Pakistan’s space program and its ambitions to contribute to the global exploration of the Moon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a historic moment for the country’s space program, Pakistan on Friday successfully launched its first-ever lunar mission aboard China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday. The iCUBE-Q CubeSat, a collaboration between Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology, China’s Shanghai University, and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO, lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":104483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"yes","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[7870],"class_list":["post-104482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan","tag-first-ever-lunar-mission"],"yoast_head":"\n