Pakistani Astronaut: First foreigner in a Chinese space station

Pakistani Astronaut: First foreigner in a Chinese space station

A Pakistani astronaut is the first foreign national at China's Tiangong space to fly into space, while Beijing strengthens its space diplomacy. This happens in the context of a growing competition with the United States for dominance in orbit.

strengthening space relationships between Pakistan and China

The mission of the Pakistani astronauts to be chosen consolidates the already close space between Beijing and Islamabad. Last year Pakistan sent a satellite for the moon mission, which was carried out as part of the Chinese Mondexplorer. Purates were also transported by the European Space Organization, France and Italy, such as Chinese state media reported.

The importance of the Tiangong space station

Tiangong is one of the two room stations currently operated and was launched in 1998. Since her operation in 2021, she has only housed Chinese Astronauts. Quentin Parker, astrophysicist and professor at the University of Hong Kong, described the mission as "an important step in the internationalization of the Chinese space". He added: "If you really internationalize things, you create something that is larger than the sum of its parts, and that also applies to the internationalization of the space station."

selection and training of the astronauts

During a press conference on Wednesday, the China Manned Space Agency announced that the selected Astronaut will act as a payload specialist. He will take on daily tasks during the mission and carry out scientific experiments for Pakistan. Amjad Ali, deputy director of Pakistan's space agency Superco, welcomed this news as a milestone for the South Asian country, whose government is increasingly interested in her space program that is over 60 years old.

"It is very important for Pakistan because it is the first foreign country whose astronauts are recorded by China and take part in the Chinese mission," he told the Reuters news agency. Ali said that those responsible in Pakistan will put together a list of five to ten candidates for the mission until next month, which are then reduced from China to two

Both astronauts are then trained in China for six months to a year, with one of them may be sent to space in October next year, while the other serves as a reserve, according to Ali.

strategic partnership between Pakistan and China

The growing space relationships between the two countries coincide with increasing economic cooperation and trade activities on earth. As part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, an important project by the Belt and Road Initiative, China has invested considerably in the infrastructure in the north and south of Pakistan, including a low-water port in the southwestern city of Gwadar and several technological projects between the two countries.

an Agreement On the space cooperation between the two countries, The signed in February was the start of the mission announced on Wednesday.

future developments in space travel

On Tuesday, a delegation from the Chinese space company Galaxy Space met with the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as a explanation from Sharif's office states. The delegation showed "great interest in investments in the space technology industry in Pakistan and in joint activities with Pakistani space institutions and private telecommunications companies". Sharif called China's "most reliable friend and strategic partner" in his country and added that Pakistan was "more intensive cooperation with China in the areas of space technology, satellites and satellite internet".

Amer Gilani, who is responsible for cooperation in the manned space travel, told CNN that the experiments that are to be carried out during the planned mission will still be selected, but have a "high scientific, industrial and social influence".

China has promoted its space capacities through ambitious moon and deep space for research programs and the expansion of its space station. On Thursday, another manned mission from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center will start in northwestern China and bring three astronauts to the Tiangong area.

The crew of the Shenzhou-20 is scheduled to start on Thursday at 5:17 p.m. local time (5:17 a.m.), the state media reported on Wednesday. It will be the ninth manned mission to the Chinese space station since it was fully assembled in 2022. The main task of the mission is to complete the in orbit rotation with the crew of the Shenzhou-19, which is intended to return to Earth on April 29, as representatives of the China Manned Space Agency explained at a press conference.

During your stay in space, the astronauts will carry out science and application experiments, install a spacecraft protection device and carry out exterior inserts and do returning tasks. The mission will also transport small animals and organisms for bioscientific experiments at the space station, including zebrafische, flatworms (known as planariums) and streptomyces bacteria.

China's space authority reported that China has already signed almost 200 intergovernmental space cooperation agreements with foreign countries and international organizations. These agreements cover areas from satellite development to moon research to manned space.

The space agency China announced on Thursday that loans for moon samples that were collected by an earlier Mondexploration Mission China were also approved at seven institutions in six countries, including Pakistan.

Parker from the University of Hong Kong emphasized the importance of international space cooperations: "The situation in the world is currently complex - but it is important that this spirit of cooperation and approach is maintained."