Pakistan has joined the race to send its astronauts to space. According to an agreement signed between Pakistan and China on February 28, Pakistani astronaut candidates will be trained by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) for missions to the Tiangong Space Station.
"The signing of the agreement has created fresh opportunities and set a model for more developing countries to engage in international manned space collaboration," the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan posted on X. Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif was part of the Pakistani delegation which met with officials of the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).
Pakistan has its own space agency named Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) but it heavily relies on China for its space missions.
The agreement signed between SUPARCO and CMSEO has opened new aveneues of cooperation, which extends beyond just satellite launches. According to Asia&Pacific, the Pakistani astronaut candidates will be selected by the Chinese government and the plan is to send mixed batches of the crew to the Tiangong space station. The timeline for a mission has not been specified but it is likely to take place no earlier than 2026.
Pakistan's reliance on China in the space sector dates back to 1990 when it launched Badr-1, a communications satellite on the Long March 2E rocket. In 2024 as well, China launched Pakistan's cubesat with the Chang'e-6 mission - which brought first rock samples from the far side of the Moon. Pakistan's SUPARCO was founded in 1961, much earlier than when ISRO took its current form after superseding Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1969. But it is decades behind when it comes to accomplishments in space.
Notably, China is keen on taking foreign astronauts to its space station. In a 2023 statement by the Chinese government, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA said, "We extend an invitation to the world and welcome all countries and regions committed to the peaceful use of outer space to cooperate with us and participate in the Chinese space station missions." Xiquing said that the invitation also encourages foreign astronauts to participate in China's crewed landing missions on the Moon, something which Beijing wants to achieve by 2030.
Pakistan Vs China in space
The announcement of a joint space mission from Pakistan comes at a time when a couple of Indian astronauts are training in the US for a private mission. Indian Air Force officers Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair are undergoing rigorous training for their flight to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year.
The duo is part of the Axiom-4 mission which will be launched in collaboration between Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX. Notably, Shukla is the pilot for the four-membered crew mission while Nair is the backup astronaut.
ALSO SEE: Axiom Mission 4: Meet The Crew That Will Accompany India's Shubhanshu Shukla To The ISS
The mission was targeted for launch last year but got postponed to Spring 2025 due to other flights NASA and SpaceX prioritised. This would be the first time an Indian astronaut will visit the space station, and the second after Rakesh Sharma to fly to outer space.
The practice of sending an astronaut on a foreign spacecraft is decades old. Sharma flew on a Russian Soyuz capsule in 1984 while Russia and US send their astronauts to the ISS on each other's spacecraft to this day. Besides, Russia also sent the first Belarusian astronaut to the space station last year as a result of an agreement between the two governments.
It is possible India will send multiple astronauts to space before Pakistan sends its own, thanks to ISRO's Gaganyaan program. Currently under development, Gaganyaan will see three Indians travel to an orbit of 400 kilometres and return after spending three days in space. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh said in February that the first crewed Gaganyaan launch is targeted for 2026.
ALSO SEE: Gaganyaan Astronaut Launch In 2026, Chandrayaan-4 In 2027: Centre Confirms Mission Timelines