Karachi: Two Pakistani pilots are training in China for a historic mission that would make one of them the first foreign astronaut aboard China's Tiangong space station.

Pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud have spent months at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing. Their training includes learning Mandarin, practising in centrifuge drills, and getting used to living and working in zero gravity.

The mission was agreed by Pakistan and China in 2019. China has not announced which pilot will fly or when, but officials say the final decision is expected in mid-to-late October. The chosen pilot will go directly into space from training in China and return home only after a recovery period. The two men were selected from about 20 finalists, narrowed down from an initial pool of pilots and scientists. They were tested for medical fitness, mental strength, and the ability to handle high g-forces - something few scientists can manage.

Once in space, the pilot will serve as a "payload specialist," running Pakistan's science experiments rather than flying the spacecraft. The experiments, chosen from over 300 university proposals, focus on biotechnology to help fight food insecurity and climate change. The stay will last about a week.

Pakistan does not have its own spacecraft or launch vehicle, so the mission relies entirely on China. The astronaut will fly on a Chinese spacecraft, launch from a Chinese site, and communicate in Mandarin while in orbit. The invitation is the first time China has carried a foreign astronaut to space. Pakistan is also working with China on a lunar rover due to fly on China's Chang'e 8 mission around 2028. The rover will use artificial intelligence to detect obstacles and plan its own path on the Moon.

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