Pakistan’s space agency has announced that it will collaborate with China on its next lunar mission, Chang’e-6, scheduled for launch in 2024. This joint effort marks a significant milestone in the space cooperation between the two nations.
The Chang’e-6 mission aims to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a scientifically valuable region that has never been explored before. The far side is older and features the Aitken Basin, one of the Moon’s three major landforms. The mission will land at the South Pole-Aitken Basin to explore and collect samples from different regions and ages.
In addition to Pakistan’s CubeSat payload, the mission will also carry instruments and projects from France, the European Space Agency, and Italy. This international collaboration demonstrates the growing global interest in space exploration and cooperation.
Pakistan’s involvement in the Chang’e-6 mission builds on its previous collaboration with China, including sending seeds to the Chinese space station Tiangong for research. Pakistan is also exploring opportunities to join China’s Tiangong space station and the planned lunar base on the Moon’s South Pole.
To facilitate communication between the Moon’s far side and Earth, China will launch the Queqiao-2 relay satellite in the first half of 2024. This mission marks a significant step forward in the space programs of both Pakistan and China, showcasing their commitment to advancing space exploration and cooperation.