Pakistan launches lunar payload aboard Chinese moon mission

Pakistan's space program achieved a historic milestone on Friday as the country's first-ever lunar orbiter lifted off from China's Henan Space Launch Site. According to state-owned Radio Pakistan, Pakistan launched its first lunar orbit mission ICUBE-Q designed and developed by the Institute of Space Technology in collaboration with China's Shanghai University and Pakistan's national space agency SUPARCO. The mission will facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration, it said, adding that the mission, which aims to explore the moon's "dark side", will employ lunar research payloads from multiple countries, including Pakistan's iCube Qamar satellite. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the nation on the successful launch of Pakistan's maiden lunar mission. President Zardari congratulated the IST, Suparco and the China National Space Administration on the achievement. He said the successful launch would be a " milestone" for Pakistan's space programme and commended the cooperation between Pakistan and China in aerospace. Shehbaz hailed the iCube-Q satellite as "Pakistan's first step in space" and said that Pakistani scientists and engineers were "proving their mettle like the expertise they exhibited in nuclear technology". The acceptance of Pakistan's mission among eight countries was the recognition of the capabilities of the country's scientists and experts, he added. The prime minister said the achievement would help build Pakistan's capacity in satellite communications besides opening up new avenues for scientific research, economic development and national security. Source: Kuwait News Agency