ICUBE-Qamar: Pakistan is launching Satellite to Moon

Pakistan is preparing to launch its CubeSat satellite as part of China’s upcoming lunar mission, Chang’e 6, which is scheduled for the first week of May. The satellite, named ICUBE-Qamar (ICUBE-Q), is a joint effort involving Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology (IST), the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), and China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU).

The primary objective of the Chang’e 6 mission is to collect samples from the far side of the Moon. Pakistan’s CubeSat will be among several payloads from different countries participating in the mission, including France, the European Space Agency, and Italy. This collaboration signifies Pakistan’s expanding role in space exploration beyond CubeSats. Pakistan is actively researching environmentally tolerant seeds and exploring potential agreements to join China’s Tiangong space station and establish a lunar base on the South Pole.