BEIJING: Two Pakistani pilots are undergoing intensive training in China as Pakistan prepares to select its first astronaut for a mission aboard the Tiangong space station.
Pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud have spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre in Beijing. The mission was conceived by Pakistan and China in 2019.
Pakistan’s space agency, Suparco, expects to make the final astronaut selection in mid-to-late October, said Amer Gilani, who oversees human spaceflight cooperation at the agency.
China has not announced which pilot will fly or confirmed the launch date.
Pilots Undergo Intensive Training
The two pilots are learning Mandarin, spacecraft systems and procedures for working in microgravity. Their training also includes centrifuge drills to prepare them for the forces experienced during launch.
They are also learning how to eat, sleep and repair equipment while weightless.
Whoever is selected will remain in China until the launch. The astronaut will travel directly into space from China and return to Pakistan after completing recovery following the mission.
The two pilots emerged from a group of about 20 finalists selected from an initial pool of Pakistani pilots and scientists.
Suparco screened the candidates for medical fitness, psychological resilience and their ability to withstand high g-forces.
Uzair Ansari, Suparco’s director of artificial intelligence, said pilots with high-speed flying experience were selected because few scientists have experience with the forces involved in spaceflight.
The information provided by Gilani and Ansari offers the first detailed insight from Suparco into the selection process since the pilots were chosen and sent to China.
China’s space agency did not respond to a request for comment about the selection process.
Pakistani Astronaut to Conduct Experiments
The selected pilot will serve as a “payload specialist” during the mission. In that role, the astronaut will conduct scientific experiments rather than operate the spacecraft.
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. The projects focus on biotechnology and aim to support research related to food security and climate change.
Suparco will build and test each experiment before Chinese engineers approve the equipment for the flight.
Ansari said the process provides Pakistani technology with an opportunity to undergo testing and validation on an international space platform.
The Pakistani payload will be small compared with Tiangong’s wider research programme. The Chinese station has hosted more than 180 experiments and generated over 500 research papers and 150 patents.
Tiangong consists of three main modules — Tianhe, Wentian and Mengtian. Together, they weigh about 77 metric tonnes and contain around 14 experiment racks.
The facilities support research in areas including life sciences, materials, fluid physics, combustion and radiation exposure. Some experiments are also mounted outside the station to expose materials and biotechnology payloads directly to space.
Mission Highlights Pakistan-China Space Cooperation
The mission will rely heavily on China’s space infrastructure.
The Pakistani astronaut will fly aboard a Chinese spacecraft launched from a Chinese facility. Chinese instructors are training the astronaut, while Mandarin will be used for communication during the mission.
Pakistan does not currently have its own crewed spacecraft or independent launch vehicle.
The astronaut’s stay aboard Tiangong is expected to last about a week. That is considerably shorter than the roughly six-month missions typically completed by Chinese astronauts.
The Pakistani astronaut is expected to return with two members of a Chinese crew that arrived at the station in May. The third Chinese crew member is expected to remain aboard for a year as part of research into long-duration human physiology in space.
Since Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in 1961, citizens of about 50 countries have travelled beyond Earth. However, only Russia, the United States and China have independently launched crewed spacecraft.
The mission would mark the first time China transports a foreign astronaut to its space station.
No Lunar Astronaut Commitment Yet
Gilani said Pakistan has not secured an official commitment from China to send a Pakistani astronaut to the Moon.
“There is no official commitment or discussion on this matter,” he said, adding that future cooperation would depend on the outcome of Pakistan’s first human spaceflight mission.
The two countries are also expanding cooperation in lunar exploration.
A Pakistani-built rover is scheduled to fly aboard China’s Chang’e 8 lunar mission around 2028. According to Ansari, the rover will use AI-based stereo imaging to detect obstacles, estimate depth and plan its route across the lunar surface.
The system will allow the rover to operate more independently because Earth-based controllers cannot guide it in real time across the lunar surface.
Ansari described the astronaut mission as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Pakistani scientists.
