Two Pakistanis to train in China for joint spaceflight

(Web Desk): China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Wednesday said that the selection process for Pakistani astronauts is now underway following the signing of a cooperation agreement between China and Pakistan at the end of February.

Similar to the selection process for Chinese astronauts, it consists of three stages: preliminary selection, secondary selection, and final selection.

The preliminary selection is being conducted in Pakistan, while the secondary and final stages will take place in China, CMSA spokesman Lin Xiqiang said during a press conference held at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.

Ultimately, two Pakistani astronauts will be chosen to undergo training in China, he added.

According to the flight mission plans for the China Space Station and the progress of international cooperation, one Pakistani astronaut will participate in a joint spaceflight mission as a payload specialist.

In addition to daily crew duties, the astronaut will also be responsible for operating scientific experiments on behalf of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, China is in discussions with other countries regarding their astronauts’ participation in missions to the China Space Station, with further updates to be released at an appropriate time.

This development comes as Beijing gears up for the launch of its Shenzhou-20 mission, which will carry three astronauts to the Chinese space station Tiangong, at 5:17pm on Thursday local time.

The main purpose of the mission is to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew which is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 29, China Manned Space Agency officials said at a press conference broadcast on CCTV.

The Shenzhou-20 spaceflight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre will carry astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, CCTV said.

The spaceflight will be Chen Dong's third and the first for the other two - a space engineer and a former air force pilot.

They will conduct space science and application experiments, install a space debris protection device as well as extravehicular payload and equipment, and perform recovery tasks.

The mission will also bring with it zebrafish, planarians and streptomyces as research objects to carry out three life science experiments at the space station.

The crew, scheduled to return to Earth in late October, can expect a resupply mission via the unmanned Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft.

The country's fourth batch of astronauts set to participate in Shenzhou spaceflights is currently in training, featuring for the first time astronauts from China's special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Pakistan.

The Hong Kong and Macau astronauts are likely to carry out their first mission as early as 2026, Chinese media reported.