By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD (AA) – China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe, carrying Pakistan’s first moon mission, has successfully entered its circumlunar orbit, state-run media reported on Wednesday,
The Chang's-6 successfully performed a near-moon braking procedure before entering the circumlunar orbit at 10:12 a.m. (0212GMT), Xinhua News Agency reported citing a statement by the China National Space Administration.
The near-moon braking procedure is a key orbital control for Chang'e-6 during its flight. The braking makes its relative speed lower than the lunar escape velocity so that it can be captured by the moon's gravity and fly around the moon, according to the agency.
Chang’e 6 also includes Pakistan’s first lunar satellite iCUBE, which was launched on Friday from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the island of Hainan in China.
The iCUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface.
Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology, in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University and Pakistan national space agency SUPARCO, jointly developed the iCUBE-Q.
The primary purpose of iCUBE-Q, or CubeSats, is to facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration.
According to the China National Space Administration, the Chang'e 6 probe will collect samples from the far side of the moon, making the mission the first of its kind in human history.
The Chang'e-6 spacecraft, like its predecessor Chang'e-5, comprises an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a returner. The Chang'e-5 returned to Earth in December 2020 with the first lunar soil samples in over four decades.
Besides CubeSats from Pakistan, the Chang’e-6 mission also carries a number of other international payloads to the moon, including the European Space Agency's lunar surface ion analyzer, France's radon detection instrument, and Italy's laser corner reflector.