China has planned to send an astronaut from all its weather ally Pakistan as the first foreign guest of its space station Tiangong.
China and Pakistan on Friday signed an agreement with bilateral efforts to select and train Pakistani astronauts and then sent some of them to Tiangong, currently orbiting 400 km above Earth, China Mande Space Agency (CMSA) said in a news release.
The agreement to send Pakistani astronaut into space into space was signed by China Mande Space Agency (CMSA) and Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) at a function of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad at a function.
China has been launching satellites for Pakistan for the last few years to help its close aide.
The Chinese Space Station, which has been in orbit for almost four years, is considered a rival for Russia’s International Space Station Mir, currently in orbit.
China allegedly excluded the country from the International Space Station (ISS), about the concern that China’s Space Program has been incorporated by its Army, People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
China’s space station is also seen as a new area of competition between China and the United States.
Two robotic weapons of the station, especially long one who has the ability to grab objects, including satellites from space attracted international concerns.
China has previously announced plans for further development of space programs, including an manned lunar mission, construction of a lunar space station, discovery of habitable planets and additional world lives to expand their space programs over the next few decades.
Lynn Shakiang, deputy director of the Chinese manned space agency, had earlier told the media here that China has planned to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, while the US has planned to bring its astronauts back to Lunar surface in 2025.
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