On 3 May 2024, Pakistan managed to send a satellite to the moon aboard China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission. Pakistan’s CubeSat, called ICUBE-Qamar (ICUBE-Q), was sent as part of the Chinese lunar mission that aims to collect samples from the far-side of the moon, a step, if successful, will be of great significance for space research. It will allow samples from the near-side of the moon to be compared with those collected from the far-side to understand the different geological characteristics of the moon’s surface. This mission also carried payloads from France, Sweden and Italy, besides that of Pakistan. As the Chinese Long March 5 rocket took off from the Wencheng Space Launch Site in Hainan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, tweeted that it is a “historic milestone” for Pakistan and a “momentous leap for Pakistan’s space program”. [i] The tweet also mentioned that Pakistan is proud of its “collaboration with China”. Though Sharif’s tweet seems to project that Pakistan has made a big achievement, in reality, Islamabad has achieved little except for a piggyback ride to the moon on China’s back.
ICUBE-Q is a CubeSat, i.e. a small satellite weighing less than 7 kg. It has two cameras mounted to capture lunar surface images and obtain lunar magnetic field data. While Pakistan makes its debut in a deep space programme with this maiden lunar mission, the first CubeSat was proposed in 1999 at California Polytechnic State University to enable college students to develop skills in space exploration and to build bigger spacecraft like the Sputnik (the first satellite sent into space in 1957, by Russia).[ii] The first CubeSat was a Japanese nanosatellite launched in 2003 from Russia. Reportedly, as of December 2023, more than 2,300 CubeSats had been launched already, many of which were made by students and researchers for academic purposes. ICUBE-Q was a result of collaboration between Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology (IST), the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). In short, making a CubeSat is very easy and among the basics of space exploration. For Pakistan to eulogize its lunar mission is only reflective of a rather nascent stage of Pakistan’s deep space programme so far.
There are also reasons why Pakistan’s pride in collaborating with China is misplaced. Firstly, the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) or the Chang’e Project made its first launch in 2007. The recent launch is part of CLEP’s third phase, and Beijing has already announced it will land its crew on the moon by 2030.[iii] It is China which is making incremental advancements in space research. However, given the Chinese tendency to use their scientific prowess in several unspecified ways, it must be read as a sign of caution. For instance, just after the launch of Chang’e-6, expert observers spotted a “previously undisclosed mini rover on the side of the Chang’e-6 lander”, when new pre-launch photos were released.[iv] This raised speculations and international security concerns over China’s dual nature of its lunar mission. China is on a path of rapid military modernization. Besides its space and lunar missions, reportedly under Xi Jinping, China has also begun nuclear warhead buildup, from 200 in 2019 to a target of 1000 by 2030.[v] Such developments are indicative of China’s aggressive geopolitical intentions. Further, China is projecting its lunar mission as a step towards international space collaboration. Chang’e-6 saw participation from Pakistan and three other countries. Chang’e-7, reportedly set to be launched in 2026, will carry payloads from Egypt, Bahrain, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Thailand.[vi] The call for collaboration by China on its lunar mission could be a garb for Beijing to be able to continue using space research for military objectives. Therefore, Beijing’s secrecy should be a worry.
In April 2018, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) sought international partners to submit their proposals for experiments that could be included in the Chang’e-6 mission.[vii] Reportedly, after deeper assessment, four were chosen. The French Research Institute of Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) provided the instrument for Detection of Outgassing Radon (DORN). SCF Lab in Rome, built the INstrument for landing – Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations (INRRI), that will help find in optical range. The Swedish Institute for Space Physics created the Negative Ions on Lunar Surface (NILS), which was selected for Chang’e-6. Pakistan’s ICUBE-Q, too, qualified for the Chang’e-6 mission. While Italy and France can boast expanding space/lunar missions, Sweden has been moving ahead in this context, making various international collaborations. For instance, in terms of lunar missions, in 2019, France joined NASA’s moon mission by signing the Artemis Accord, which Italy as well as Sweden joined in 2020. France and Italy are working together to build a Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH), as part of a mission to have a lunar gateway for astronauts to stay and conduct research. In terms of broader space research, Italy and France have launched satellites into space in 1964 and 1965, respectively. The Italian Space Agency (ASI), established in 1988, helped build the International Space Station (ISS) and was the first in Europe to join the ISS. The Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) is the French space agency established in 1961. France played a crucial role in establishing the European Space Agency (ESA), and along with Italy, remains a major force behind the successes of the ESA. Rymdstryrelsen, the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA), supports the ESA missions and has even sent its national to the ISS in 2006. These developments suggest that collaborating with China on its lunar mission is part of a larger effort by France, Italy and Sweden to further their space researches. This leaves only Pakistan as a new comer in this context.
Though Pakistan has a space programme that dates back to the 1960s, its recent collaboration with China makes it Islamabad’s maiden step towards a lunar mission. It should also be kept in mind that Pakistan and China share deep strategic relations. In 2023, Pakistan became part of China’s International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).[viii] ILRS is another lunar station being built, led by CNSA and Russia’s Roscosmos, and joined by 12 other countries as of 2023. It is seen as a counter to the US’s NASA-led Artemis programme, supported by 39 countries, including India. Given this backdrop, for Pakistan’s ICUBE-Q to be chosen amongst other contenders is not a sign of Pakistan’s high quality of CubeSat, but another of the Chinese favours that it has done to Islamabad and yet another chance for Pakistan to show its support to its “ironclad” friend – China.
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*Dr. Shrabana Barua is a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs
The views expressed are personal.
Endnotes
[i] Shehbaz Sharif on X, 3 May 2024, URL: https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1786411889880371557?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet.
[ii] The Cubesat Program, URL: https://www.cubesat.org/about.
[iii] See Ajay Lele, “Chang'e 6 Mission: China Tightens Grip on The ‘Global’ Moon Quest”, The Wire, 7 May 2024, URL: https://thewire.in/science/change-6-mission-china-tightens-grip-on-the-global-moon-quest.
[iv] Andrew Jones on X, 3 May 2024, URL: https://twitter.com/AJ_FI/status/1786353438806217036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1786353438806217036%7Ctwgr%5E148fd95c7d460ccb79d5a566a8e1510842105ba3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wionews.com%2Fscience%2Fhas-china-sent-a-secret-rover-to-moon-internet-sleuths-spot-small-device-piggybacking-change-6-719162.
[v] Tong Zhao, “The Real Motives for China’s Nuclear Expansion”, Foreign Affairs, 3 May 2024, URL: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/real-motives-chinas-nuclear-expansion#:~:text=Under%20Chinese%20President%20Xi%20Jinping,caused%20deep%20concern%20in%20Washington.
[vi] Xinhua Commentary, “Lunar mission requires unity not space race mentality”, 5 May 2024, URL: https://english.news.cn/20240503/c5c374bffc23467f8a0ef38c1abfc058/c.html#:~:text=Chang'e%2D7%2C%20scheduled,200%20kg%20for%20international%20cooperation..
[vii] BBC SkyatNight, “China's Chang'e 6 probe enters orbit around the Moon, on its journey to gather samples from the far side”, 9 May 2024, URL: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-missions/chang-e-6.
[viii] Xinhua, “Pakistan, Belarus join International Lunar Research Station program”, 25 October 2023, URL: https://english.news.cn/20231025/197ca42b8ae24ed6b1b4e5fba949fdbc/c.html.