Pakistan's inaugural lunar orbiter transmits first images of sun and moon
Pakistan's CubeSat, a satellite launched as part of China's Chang'e-6 moon mission, has achieved a significant milestone by transmitting its first images of the sun and moon from lunar orbit.
The images of the South Asian nation’s inaugural lunar orbiter were unveiled during a celebratory ceremony at the China National Space Agency (CNSA).
The CNSA announced that on May 8, the Pakistani CubeSat successfully detached from the orbiter near the far side of the moon and captured its initial images.
The first snapshot showcased the radiant sun, while the second featured a gleaming half-moon. The third image displayed the moon and the sun in one frame, according to the images released by the CNSA.
To strengthen bilateral ties, China on May 10 delivered the data collected by the cube satellite onboard its Chang'e-6 spacecraft to Pakistan, the CNSA announced.
“I believe that this cooperation is of great significance to promoting friendly relations between the two countries and enriching people's understanding of the moon,” said Ge Ping, deputy director of the CNSA's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre.
"We will share our scientific achievements to lay the foundation for future lunar exploration activities, which will be of great significance to promoting the construction of a global community with a shared future in outer space," he added.
This achievement marks another feat in the progress of Asian nations in space exploration. Japan recently made headlines by capturing the world's first close-up photograph of space debris in orbit as part of an ongoing mission aimed at identifying and eliminating potentially hazardous debris cluttering Earth's orbit.
