China has signed an agreement with Pakistan to send a Pakistani astronaut to its space station, Tiangong, marking the first time a foreign national will be aboard the facility.
The deal was signed in a ceremony held in Islamabad on Friday, between the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was alos present during the ceremony.
According to a statement by CMSA, both nations will collaborate on selecting and training Pakistani astronauts, with the chosen candidate expected to join Chinese taikonauts for a short-term mission in the coming years.
“This signifies a major step in China’s international space cooperation,” reported Global Times, highlighting the growing partnership between Beijing and Islamabad in aerospace advancements.
China’s space station, which has been operational for nearly four years, was built after the country was reportedly excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) due to concerns over the involvement of China’s military in its space programme.
The station is also seen as a new frontier of competition between China and the US.
As per the news agency PTI, the agreement further solidifies China’s support for Pakistan’s space ambitions, following previous collaborations such as the launch of Pakistani satellites.
Pakistan’s first digital communications satellite, Badr-1, was launched aboard a Chinese Long March 2E rocket in 1990, while earlier this year, Pakistan’s CubeSat accompanied China’s Chang’e-6 probe to the Moon.
According to Global Times, the selection of the astronaut is expected to take around a year, after which the candidate will undergo intensive training in China. This move, experts say, demonstrates the reliability of China’s manned space technology and its willingness to lower barriers for developing countries to participate in space exploration.
China has also set ambitious goals for space exploration, with plans to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030.
Meanwhile, the US has its sights set on returning to the lunar surface by 2025.
