KARACHI: Pakistan is moving closer to sending its first astronaut into space, with two Pakistani pilots undergoing intensive training in China as Islamabad and Beijing prepare to select the candidate who will make the historic journey.
Pilots Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud have been training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing for a mission developed under the growing space cooperation between Pakistan and China.
A final decision on which of the two pilots will fly aboard China’s Tiangong space station is expected in mid-to-late October, according to Amer Gilani, who oversees human spaceflight cooperation at Pakistan’s national space agency, SUPARCO.
The selected astronaut will be Pakistan’s first citizen to travel into space and will serve as a “payload specialist”, focusing primarily on conducting scientific experiments rather than operating the spacecraft.
Training has included Mandarin language lessons, spacecraft systems, centrifuge exercises and preparation for the physical challenges associated with launch and microgravity. The two pilots were selected from around 20 finalists after an extensive screening process involving medical and psychological assessments.
The planned mission is part of a broader partnership between Pakistan and China in space technology. The cooperation has already included Chinese-launched Pakistani satellites, work on satellite navigation and the development of a Pakistani lunar rover scheduled to participate in China’s Chang’e 8 mission, expected around 2028.
For the planned crewed mission, Pakistan has selected four scientific experiments from more than 300 proposals submitted by universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The experiments will focus on biotechnology and are intended to explore issues linked to food security and climate change.
The experiments have been developed and tested in SUPARCO laboratories before being reviewed by Chinese specialists for deployment aboard Tiangong.
The Pakistani astronaut is expected to spend about a week aboard the Chinese space station. During the mission, the astronaut will work alongside Chinese crew members and conduct the selected scientific experiments.
The mission also highlights Pakistan’s reliance on China for human spaceflight capabilities. The astronaut will travel aboard a Chinese spacecraft, launch from a Chinese facility and undergo training under Chinese instructors. Pakistan currently does not possess an independent crewed spacecraft or launch vehicle.
If the mission goes ahead as planned, China will also make history by carrying its first foreign astronaut into space.
The planned flight follows decades of international human spaceflight, during which citizens from around 50 countries have travelled beyond Earth. However, only Russia, the United States and China have independently launched crewed spacecraft.
Pakistani officials have said there is currently no formal commitment for a Pakistani astronaut to participate in a future lunar mission. Officials have indicated that future cooperation will depend partly on the outcome of the country’s first crewed spaceflight mission.
The prospective mission marks another significant step in Pakistan-China space cooperation and could provide Pakistani scientists and engineers with an opportunity to gain experience from conducting research aboard an orbiting space laboratory.
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