Pakistan successfully launched its first satellite mission iCube Qamar to the moon on Friday.

The ICUBE-Q satellite was launched on board the Chinese Chang E6 spacecraft from Hainan Province in southern China, Pakistani Institute of Space Technology (IST) reported in a statement.

The statement added that the satellite was developed in collaboration between the IST, China’s Shanghai University and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

The key objective of this mission is to facilitate scientific research and advance technology and educational initiatives for space exploration, IST highlighted.

Two optical cameras are carried by the ICUBE-Q orbiter to take pictures of the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been successfully integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after qualification and testing. China’s lunar exploration mission, Chang’e 6, is the sixth in the series.

Source: Qatar News Agency