Pakistan to launch ‘historic’ lunar mission aboard China’s Chang’e 6 on May 3

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is scheduled to send its “historic” lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) on board China’s Chang’e6 which is scheduled to be launched on May 3, reported the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency on Tuesday.
ICUBE-Q has been designed and developed by the Institute of Space Technology in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.
“ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface,” the APP reported. “Following successful qualification and testing, ICUBE-Q has now been integrated with the Chang’e 6 mission.”
China is set to launch a first ever attempt to collect samples from the far side of the Moon.
The Chinese mission aims to grab samples containing material ejected from the lunar mantle and thus provide insight into the history of the Moon, Earth and Solar System.
According to the website of the Institute of Space Technology, China’s national space agency allowed Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization member states to send student-built payload to the Moon with its mission.
The Pakistani institution built a device that was selected for the purpose after rigorous evaluation.