ICUBE-Q
ICUBE-Q
Pakistani lunar nanosatellite
ICUBE-Q or ICUBE-QAMAR (Urdu: آئی کیوب-قمر) is a Pakistani lunar remote sensing observation nanosatellite and is one of the four international payloads of the Chang'e 6 lunar sample-return mission. It is a joint venture between the Institute of Space Technology (IST), Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and the Intelligent Satellite Technology Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), under the framework of Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO).[6][7][3][8] It is the first deep space mission of Pakistan.[9][10]
Satellite in deployed configuration | |
| Mission type | Lunar Orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | SUPARCO |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-082 |
| SATCAT no. | 59629 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 3 months (planned) 9 days, 17 hours and 26 minutes (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Launch mass | 9.0 kg (19.8 lb)[3] |
| Dry mass | 6.5 kg (14 lb)[3] |
| Power | 139.2 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 May 2024 (2024-05-03) 09:27 UTC[4] |
| Rocket | Long March 5 Y8 |
| Launch site | Wenchang, China |
| Deployed from | Chang'e 6 Orbiter |
| Deployment date | 8 May 2024, 08:14 UTC[5] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Selenocentric |
| Periapsis altitude | 200 kilometres (120 mi) |
| Apoapsis altitude | 8,600 kilometres (5,300 mi) |
| Period | 720 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| 2 Cameras of one mega pixels (1280 × 720) mounted on opposite X panels | |
In 2019, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced an opportunities for payloads in its upcoming lunar sample-return mission of Chang'e 6, the space agency had a slot for payloads weighing less than 10 kg in its orbiting spacecraft.[11] The CNSA has announced in 2022 that it will carry scientific instruments from France, Italy and Sweden on the Chang'e-6 mission's lander along with a Pakistani payload on the orbiter.[7][12] Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology (IST) had answered the call with a proposal for a lunar CubeSat named "ICUBE-Qamar" (ICUBE-Q) and it was selected after a rigorous evaluation. The design and development of ICUBE-Q was a collaborative effort between Institute of Space Technology (IST), Pakistan's national space agency SUPARCO, and China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). IST has been developing several CubeSat in the same series of which iCube-1 was successfully launched in 2013.[7][13][14]
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics developed the satellite in its Intelligent Satellite Technology Center. The satellite called by them as "SJTU Siyuan 2" had to integrate multiple functions within limited space and mass, including energy supply, communication systems and the scientific experiment equipment. To overcome the gravitational disturbances, strong radiation expostures, temperature fluctuations and threat of lunar dust, the spacecraft was incorporated with multi-sensor fusion technology, multi-layer shielding and advanced thermal control technology to ensure its stable operation.[15][16] SJTU had previously launched its first student satellite APSCO-SSS-2A (SJTU Siyuan 1) in collaboration with IST in October 2021.[17][18]
The overall project consists of three main parts: the satellite itself, the separation mechanism (which includes the power control box) and the mounting bracket.[7] The on-orbit fault diagnosis algorithm enables the satellite to automatically detect and diagnose possible system faults. The spacecraft also features intelligent task scheduling strategy.[3][16]
- Design Life: 3 months (planned).
- Mass: The entire satellite weighs only 6.5 kg (14 lb) and the total carrying weight reaches 9.0 kg (19.8 lb).[3]
- Communication: X band for TT&C and image data transfer at a data rate of 1 kbit/s.
- Power: 12 V, 11.6 Ah Battery (139.2 watts) with two deployable solar panels.
- Attitude Control: Three axis control using reaction wheels, star sensor and Sun sensors.
- Temperature Control: Thermal management systems
- Payload: 2 Visible light cameras of one mega pixel resolution (1280 × 720) mounted on opposite (+/-) X panels.
- Built Material: Incorporates advanced materials such as special magnesium alloy and honeycomb carbon fiber.[3][16]
ICUBE-Q was integrated with Chang'e 6 orbiter after successful qualification tests at SUPARCO and SJTU.[7] On 3 May 2024 the satellite was launched on Long March 5 Y8 rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Site.
The satellite was deployed from the Chang'e 6 lunar orbiter stack in at 08:14 UTC, (13:14 PKT) on 8 May 2024 and will undergo testing for the first few days with the first images being expected around 15-16 May 2024.[19]
The mission objectives include obtaining detailed images of the lunar surface and conducting intelligent on-orbit data processing of images, obtaining lunar magnetic field data and establish lunar magnetic field model and verifying new technologies such as nanosatellite-level deep space lunar-ground communications and low-cost deep space exploration based on micro-nano satellites.[3][7]
The satellite transmitted its first images on 11th May 2024 captured from a distance of 200 kilometres from the Moon.[20]
- "What are SmallSats and CubeSats? - NASA". Retrieved 2024-05-03.
- 请点赞. "刚刚，官宣发射成功！交大卫星随嫦娥六号飞天探月". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- Jones, Andrew (2024-05-03). "China launches Chang'e-6 mission to collect first samples from the moon's far side". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
- "Pakistan's first lunar satellite ICUBE-Q successfully enters moon's orbit". Arab News Pakistan. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
- Shahid, Jamal (2024-05-04). "Pakistan's lunar payload lifts off aboard Chinese mission". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
- "APSCO Organized Training Course on the Development of Cubesat ICUBE-Q for Lunar Mission". www.apsco.int. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- Correspondent, Our (2024-05-03). "To the moon: Pakistan's first orbiter lifts off". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
- Editorial (2024-05-05). "One small step…". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- "China offers int'l cooperation opportunity via Chang'e lunar missions | english.scio.gov.cn". english.scio.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- Khurshid, Khurram (2011-01-01). "Institute of Space Technology CubeSat: ICUBE-1 subsystem analysis and design". 2011 Aerospace Conference.
- "嫦娥六号带着"小嫦娥"上天，中国首颗十公斤以下探月卫星上海造、"巴铁"用 -6parkbbs.com". club.6parkbbs.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- "上海交大这颗探月卫星随嫦娥六号飞天，师生现场观看发射_浦江头条_澎湃新闻-The Paper". www.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- "News Highlights". www.apsco.int. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- Islamabad, IST. "APSCO SSS 2A". Institute of Space Technology.
- Guramani, Nadir (2024-05-10). "Pakistan's iCube-Qamar beams back first images from moon's orbit". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-05-10.