Pakistan's first satellite mission departs for historic moon journey

Karachi: In a historic first, Pakistan's first satellite mission to the moon 'iCube Qamar' has took off from the China's Hainan Space Launch Site today.

As soon as the mission began its journey, Pakistanis in the country and overseas expressed pleasure for this remarkable achievement.

Pakistan has stepped into historic moon mission after India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed in the south pole of moon last year.

Dr Khurram Khurshid, a member of the Core Committee of the Institute of Space Technology, told that Pakistan's satellite mission will orbit the moon for three to six months.

He said that the mission will leave for the satellite space mission at 2:18pm Pakistani time and the satellite will reach the lunar orbit in five days.

Dr Khurshid stated that through this mission, Pakistan will have pictures of the moon taken by its satellite for research.

In 2022, the Chinese National Space Agency through the Asia-Pacific Space Corporation Organization (APSCO) provided a unique opportunity for member countries to reach lunar orbit for free.

The member countries had sent their plans on the proposal of APSCO. The member countries of APSCO include Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Iran, Peru, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey.

The Institute of Space Technology also submitted a proposed project on behalf of Pakistan, out of eight countries, only Pakistan's project was accepted.

PM felicitates nation

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has felicitated the nation and the scientists for launching the first lunar orbit mission.

In a statement today, he said ICUBE-Q satellite is Pakistan's first step in the space.

The Prime Minister said Pakistani scientists, engineers and skilled workers are proving their mettle in this field like the expertise they exhibited in the nuclear technology.

He expressed tribute to the core committee of the Institute of Space Technology, including Dr Khurram Khurshid, all the members of the SUPARCO team and students, who participated in this project.