Beijing has announced that a Pakistani specialist will join the Shenzhou-24 mission. In selecting a payload specialist from among foreign candidates, the China Manned Space Agency chose a representative of Pakistan. This will mark the first visit by a foreign national to the Chinese space station.
The cooperation falls under bilateral agreements and the global Belt and Road Initiative. Although the exact launch date and the selected astronaut’s name remain undisclosed, liftoff is expected before the end of this year.
Crew Training and the Language Barrier
The leading candidates for the flight remain Pakistan Air Force pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, who have been undergoing intensive training for several months at the Astronaut Center of China in Beijing.
The training programme covers not only complex operational and technical skills but also extensive Chinese-language study, which is necessary to operate the station’s system interfaces fully. According to China Central Television, after completing a short programme in orbit, the crew will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.
The intergovernmental agreement on training Pakistani astronauts under Beijing’s leadership was signed in February last year. It was a natural extension of the strategic partnership, as China remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner and a leading investor.
Lunar Ambitions
Cooperation between the two countries extends beyond Earth orbit. The China National Space Administration plans to deliver Pakistan’s first lunar rover, Jinnah-1, to the Moon. Weighing 35 kg, the rover is equipped with specialised scientific instruments to study the composition of lunar soil and plasma behaviour in detail, and to measure background radiation levels.
These steps are part of China’s broader strategy to land its own astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030 and catch up with its main competitor, the United States.
The Nuclear Race
Meanwhile, a major technological race is unfolding worldwide to build the first lunar nuclear reactors. While the U.S. space agency NASA plans to complete the development of its reactor by the end of 2030, Russia and China are joining forces to implement a similar project by 2036.
Autonomous power sources are needed to support future lunar bases and extract frozen water from deep craters. Scientists view this ice as a source of drinking water, oxygen and rocket fuel.
We previously reported on how Panama and Austria joined the Artemis Accords.
Based on reporting by aljazeera.com.
