Islamabad: Pakistan’s historic ICUBE-Q satellite will begin its orbiting mission on Friday as it prepares for launch. The satellite will be transported on China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch at 1250 PST from Hainan, China.
According to the Institute of Space Technology (IST), the ICUBE-Q satellite was designed and developed by IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai SJTU University and Pakistan’s National Space Agency SUPARCO.
The ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface. After successful tests and trials, ICUBE-Q is now integrated with the Chang’e6 mission.
The induction event will be live streamed on the IST website and social media platforms. Chang’6 will touch down on the far side of the Moon to collect surface samples and return to Earth for research.
This mission is important for Pakistan as it will also receive iCube-Q, Pakistan’s CubeSat satellite developed by IST.
CubeSats are compact satellites, typically characterized by their compact size and standardized design. In cubic form, it is made up of modular parts that conform to certain size constraints.
These satellites usually weigh less than a few kilograms and are deployed in space for various purposes.
