Two Pakistani astronauts selected as candidates for China space programme

BEIJING:  IN a significant development, two Pakistani ‌astronauts have been selected as candidates for China’s manned space programme.

The state broadcaster ⁠CCTV reports said Wednesday that both Pakistani astronauts will travel to China for training.

The reports said that after training is done one of them will participate in ‌a ⁠flight mission as a payload specialist and will become ⁠the first foreign astronaut in China’s space ⁠station, CCTV said.

This marks the country’s first structured opportunity for its citizens to potentially undergo astronaut training and move toward future human space missions.

As an astronaut, no Pakistani citizen has officially tripped to space till date, albeit Pakistan has been involved in space science and satellite development through its national space agency.

However, several Pakistani-origin scientists and engineers have worked at NASA in technical and research roles, contributing to space science and related fields, but they have not participated as astronauts in space missions.

In Pakistan, space activities are mainly handled by the SUPARCO, which has launched satellites in a close collaboration with China and others. Pakistan’s space station has focused on remote sensing, communication, and research missions rather than human spaceflight.