China's space diplomacy lifts Pakistani astronaut toward orbit

Two Pakistani pilots are learning Mandarin, undergoing centrifuge drills and training to eat, sleep and repair equipment in weightlessness as Pakistan nears a decision on which of them will become the first foreign astronaut to travel aboard China's Tiangong space station.

The mission would mark a first for the South Asian nation and is part of broader cooperation between Pakistan and China spanning the Belt and Road Initiative. The partnership has produced Chinese-launched Pakistani satellites, a joint satellite-navigation system and a Pakistani-built rover scheduled to fly on China's Chang'e 8 lunar mission around 2028.

Pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud have spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing for a mission conceived by the two countries in 2019, said Amer Gilani, who oversees human spaceflight cooperation at Pakistan's space agency, SUPARCO.

China has not said which pilot will fly or when the mission will take place, but Gilani said a final selection decision is expected in mid-to-late October.

The selected astronaut will remain in China until the launch, departing for space directly from training and returning to Pakistan after a recovery period following the mission, Gilani told Reuters.

Training includes intensive Chinese-language instruction, spacecraft systems and exercises to prepare for microgravity and the high g-forces experienced during launch, he said.

The two pilots were selected from about 20 finalists drawn from an initial pool of Pakistani pilots and scientists. Candidates were screened for medical fitness, psychological resilience and their ability to withstand high g-forces.

"You cannot easily find scientists who are familiar with travelling and facing high-level g-forces," said SUPARCO Director of Artificial Intelligence Uzair Ansari, explaining why pilots with high-speed flying experience were selected.

The details provided by Gilani and Ansari are SUPARCO's first account to foreign media of the selection process since the pilots were chosen and sent to China. China's space agency did not respond to a request for comment.

Modest payload

The selected pilot will serve as a "payload specialist", responsible for conducting Pakistan's scientific experiments rather than operating the spacecraft, Ansari said.

SUPARCO received more than 300 proposals from universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad during a year-long campaign. Chinese institutes selected four experiments for the mission, focused on biotechnology applications related to food security and climate change, Gilani said.

Each experiment is built and tested in SUPARCO laboratories before being approved by Chinese engineers. Ansari described the process as a rare opportunity for Pakistani technology to be validated on an international platform.

The payload is modest compared with Tiangong, which has hosted more than 180 experiments and produced over 500 research papers and 150 patents, Ansari said.

The station's three modules — Tianhe, Wentian and Mengtian — have a combined mass of about 77 tonnes and contain roughly 14 experiment racks covering areas including life sciences, materials, fluid physics, combustion and radiation exposure.

Reliance on Beijing

The Pakistani astronaut will fly aboard a Chinese-built spacecraft launched from a Chinese site, train under Chinese instructors and communicate in Mandarin while in orbit.

Pakistan does not have an independent launch vehicle or crewed spacecraft, and the astronaut's stay will last about a week, far shorter than the roughly six-month rotations of Chinese career astronauts.

The Pakistani astronaut is expected to return with two members of a Chinese crew that arrived at the station in May. The third crew member is expected to remain in orbit for a year as part of research into the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.

Since Yuri Gagarin's first flight in 1961, citizens of about 50 countries have travelled to space, but only Russia, the United States and China have launched their own crewed spacecraft. China's invitation to Pakistan marks the first time it will carry a foreign astronaut.

Asked whether Pakistan had received any commitment to send an astronaut to the moon under the partnership, Gilani said, "there is no official commitment or discussion on this matter".

He said future cooperation would depend on the outcome of "our maiden mission".

The Pakistani-built lunar rover scheduled to fly on China's Chang'e 8 mission around 2028 is a separate part of the cooperation. It will use AI-based stereo imaging to detect obstacles, assess depth and plan its route across the lunar surface because Earth-based controllers cannot guide it in real time, Ansari said.

He described the mission as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for Pakistani scientists.