Pakistan TV Digital's exclusive interview with veteran Space Scientist Tariq Mustafa offers a rare firsthand account of how Pakistan became the first country to respond to NASA’s call for cooperation in its moon-landing program.
Mustafa recalls being summoned to Washington in 1961 by Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam for a crucial meeting with NASA officials.
The US space agency needed atmospheric data from the Indian Ocean region for the Apollo program and offered participating countries technical assistance and training.
“This would be a dream come true,” Mustafa recalls telling Salam during the meeting.
Within hours, the then 27-year-old engineer was flown to NASA’s Wallops Island facility to study the requirements for establishing a rocket range and submit his assessment the following morning.
Just nine months later, on June 7, 1962, Pakistan successfully launched its first sounding rocket from Sonmiani, contributing to atmospheric data used in support of America’s historic Apollo moon mission.
Mustafa credits Pakistan’s remarkable speed to decisive leadership, trained scientific manpower, and the determination of a young team working day and night to meet an ambitious deadline.
