Pakistan’s first astronaut to fly on Chinese mission Nov. 25
Islamabad also aims for a lunar landing by 2035 as its space cooperation with Beijing expands
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) – Pakistan’s first astronaut is scheduled to fly to space on a Chinese mission on Nov. 25, federal planning minister Ahsan Iqbal announced Sunday, according to Dawn.
Iqbal made the announcement at the closing of World Space Week in Narowal, held with the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).
He said Pakistan aimed to achieve a lunar landing by 2035 and hoped cooperation with China would advance its capabilities, citing the uses of space technology in agriculture, communications, climate monitoring and security.
He also recalled the contributions of Muslim scholars to astronomy.
The astronaut will be chosen from two Pakistani pilots, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, whom China selected in April and who have been training in Beijing.
China has not said which will fly; Amer Gilani, who oversees human spaceflight cooperation at Suparco, told Reuters last month a decision was expected in mid-to-late October.
A Suparco official said the chosen pilot would serve as a “payload specialist,” running Pakistan’s scientific experiments rather than flying the spacecraft.
The mission will use a Chinese spacecraft launched from China, with the astronaut expected to communicate in Mandarin in orbit.
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