Archive · 14 Aug 2026
MJ Akbar Quips Jinnah Would Partition the Moon After Rover
A famous writer from India named MJ Akbar made a joke about the Moon.
Pakistan's space agency named its new moon robot Jinnah-1.
The robot is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the man who helped create Pakistan.
Akbar joked that the first thing Jinnah would do on the Moon is 'partition it,' or cut it into pieces.
The joke reminds people of 1947, when British India was split into two countries.
Jinnah-1 is a small robot that weighs about 35 kilograms.
It will ride to the Moon with China's Chang'e-8 mission, planned for 2028-29.
It will explore the Moon's south pole, where scientists think there might be water ice.
Water on the Moon could help astronauts live there in the future.
India, China and the United States all want to explore that part of the Moon.
MJ Akbar joked that the first thing Muhammad Ali Jinnah would do on the Moon is 'partition it'.
Pakistan's SUPARCO has named its first lunar rover Jinnah-1, a roughly 35-kilogram rover.
Jinnah-1 will travel on China's Chang'e-8 mission to the lunar south polar region, planned for 2028-29.
The lunar south pole is coveted because its permanently shadowed regions may contain water ice.
India's Chandrayaan-3 made the first soft landing near the lunar south pole in 2023.
- Who
- Author and former union minister MJ Akbar, and Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
- What
- MJ Akbar joked that Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah would 'partition the Moon,' reacting to SUPARCO naming its first lunar rover Jinnah-1.
- When
- The joke was reported on August 14, 2026; the Jinnah-1 mission is planned for the 2028-29 timeframe.
- Where
- The Moon's south polar region, where Jinnah-1 will travel on China's Chang'e-8 mission.
- Why
- The joke plays on Jinnah's legacy of partitioning British India in 1947, while the rover mission aims to build Pakistan's scientific capability and explore for water ice.
- Rover name
- Jinnah-1
- Developer
- SUPARCO (Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission)
- Rover weight
- Approximately 35 kilograms
- Host mission
- China's Chang'e-8 mission
- Destination
- Lunar south polar region
- Planned timeframe
- 2028-29, subject to change
- South pole significance
- Possible water ice in permanently shadowed regions
- First south pole landing
- India's Chandrayaan-3, 2023