ISLAMABAD: China on Friday launched a Pakistani satellite, ‘ICUBE-Qamar’ or ICUBE-Q, that is set to enter the lunar orbit on a high-stakes moon mission to reach the lunar side, Pakistani state media reported.
The launch was part of China’s Chang’e-6 mission, a planned robotic lunar exploration mission, that aims to obtain the first-ever soil and rock samples from the lunar far side and return them to earth.
The samples will contain material ejected from the lunar mantle and will be used to provide insight into the history of the moon, earth, and the solar system.
“The satellite has been designed and developed by IST (Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology) in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The primary purpose of CubeSats is to facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration.”
The satellite launch was broadcast live on the IST website from the Wenchang space launch site in Hainan, China.
The primary phase of the mission is expected to last about 53 days. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e.
ICUBE-Q has two cameras as payload for taking images of the lunar surface that will be transmitted back to earth for analysis, according to its developers.
They described the launch as a “historic moment” that would open new avenues for future deep space missions from the South Asian nation.
“This is Pakistan’s first deep space mission which is indeed a historic moment and following that maybe in the future other deep space missions can be planned,” Khurram Khurshid, the head of the electrical engineering and computer science department at IST and a co-lead on the satellite project, told Arab News.
Pakistan’s proposal to build the satellite was accepted by the China National Space Agency (CNSA) from plans submitted by eight member states of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO).

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Munir Akram, on Thursday participated in a general debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the ‘Culture of Peace,’ where he highlighted the issues of Kashmir, Palestine and growing Islamophobia in the world.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both countries rule part of the Himalayan territory, but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the disputed region.
Pakistan also does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Akram has repeatedly raised the issue of Israeli war on Gaza at the UN in recent months.
In his address on Thursday, Pakistan’s permanent envoy said the world was witnessing the “rise of hate, violence and war” despite a unanimously expressed desire to promote peace, noting that more than 300 conflicts were presently raging across the world.
“The right of peoples to self-determination is being brutally suppressed, especially in Palestine and in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said in his address. “We see the spread of discrimination, bigotry, xenophobia and Islamophobia even in mature democracies.”
Akram said his country welcomed the consideration of the agenda item, adding the realization of Culture of Peace, as delineated in Article 3 of the UN Declaration, was intrinsically linked with the adherence to the principles of the UN Charter.
“In our turbulent world, promotion of a Culture of Peace is not only desirable but imperative. Our strategy must energetically promote the values of peace and harmony under the dialogue among civilizations,” he said.
“But we must also confront and reverse the dark forces of fascism, aggression and occupation and the threat they pose to peace, prosperity and stability and a world order based on the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.”
Speaking with regard to growing Islamophobia in the world, the envoy noted Pakistan and member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had initiated the adoption of a resolution designating March 15 as the Day to Combat Islamophobia and on the same day this year, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on Measures to Combat Islamophobia.
“We look forward to the appointment of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Islamophobia and the initiation of a Plan of Action to Combat Islamophobia,” he added.