Latest News
Pakistan’s pilot will be first foreign astronaut to join China’s Tiangong space station
Two Pakistani pilots learning Mandarin who spin in centrifuge drills, eat, sleep and fix equipment weightless as a decision nears on who will be the first foreign astronaut inside China’s Tiangong space station.
For the South Asian nation, it would be the first space voyage. This is part of broader cooperation with Beijing that stretches beyond the Belt and Road Initiative and has seen Chinese-launched Pakistani satellites, a combined satellite-navigation system and a Pakistani-built rover set to fly on China’s Chang’e 8 lunar mission around 2028.
The two pilots, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have been preparing for months at the China Astronaut Research and preparing Center in Beijing for a mission envisioned by the two countries in 2019, said Amer Gilani, who heads human spaceflight cooperation at Pakistan’s space agency, SUPARCO.
China has not announced which of the two would fly, or when, but Gilani said a final decision on the choice of astronaut should be taken in mid to late October.
Whoever is selected will not come back to Pakistan before the launch, but will go straight from training in China into space and come back home after a time of rehabilitation after coming back to earth, Gilani told Reuters in an interview.
“Training includes intensive Chinese language, learning spacecraft systems and adapting to the microgravity of orbit and the g-forces of liftoff,” he continued.
The pair overcame about 20 finalists from an initial group of Pakistani pilots and scientists who were evaluated for medical fitness, psychological resilience and, according to SUPARCO’s director of artificial intelligence Uzair Ansari, a tolerance for g-forces that few scientists have.”You don’t get many scientists who are used to travelling and experiencing high-level g-forces,” he added. That’s why the two men with backgrounds in high-speed flight were chosen.
SUPARCO has for the first time disclosed details about Gilani and Ansari to foreign media since the pilots were picked and deployed to China.
China’s space agency did not respond to a request for comment about the selection process.
SUBSTANTIAL PAYLOAD
Once in space, the chosen pilot will take the title of “payload specialist,” which is astronaut-speak for a person whose job in orbit is conducting Pakistan’s science projects instead of flying the ship, Ansari said.
Gilani said Chinese institutes had selected four of the more than 300 bids SUPARCO received from universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad following a year-long campaign, for this flight: biotechnology projects that will help tackle food insecurity and climate change.
Before the Chinese engineers give their final nod, every experiment is constructed and pretested in SUPARCO’s own labs – a unique scenario, Ansari added, when Pakistani technology gets certified on an international scale.
“The scientific payload is quite modest compared to a station that has already hosted over 180 experiments and generated over 500 research papers and 150 patents,” Ansari said.
Combined, Tiangong’s three modules — Tianhe, Wentian and Mengtian — weigh about 77 metric tonnes and house about 14 experiment racks covering fields like life sciences, materials, fluid physics, combustion and radiation exposure, Gilani said. Some of the experiment racks are installed outside the station and are exposed directly to space for materials and biotechnology payloads.
DEPENDENCE ON BEIJING
The astronaut will travel on a Chinese-built spacecraft, launched from a Chinese facility, trained by Chinese instructors and spoken Mandarin in orbit.
Pakistan has no independent launch vehicle or crewed spacecraft, and the stay itself will be limited to approximately a week, a fraction of the nearly six-month rotations of career Chinese crew members.
The Pakistani astronaut is likely to return with two members of a Chinese crew that arrived in the space station in May, as the third member will remain for a year to facilitate the research of long-duration human physiology in space.
Since Yuri Gagarin’s first voyage in 1961, roughly 50 countries have had individuals fly in space, but only three — Russia, the US and China — have launched their own crewed spacecraft. China’s offer to Pakistan will be the first time it will ferry a foreign astronaut.
Asked whether Islamabad had received any assurance to send an astronaut to the moon under the same cooperation, Gilani said: “No official commitment or discussion on this matter has been made,” adding the future depends on the success of “our maiden mission.”
Separate strand of that cooperation is a Pakistani-built lunar rover set to fly on China’s Chang’e 8 lunar mission around 2028: it will use AI-based stereo imaging to detect obstacles, judge depth and plan its own path across the lunar surface, since Earth-based controllers cannot guide it in real time, Ansari said.
But Ansari said the mission is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Pakistani scientists.
Latest News
OpenAI says its AI agents weakened internal monitoring system
Two of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence agents turned off sections of an internal monitoring system designed to identify misbehaviour, the latest example of AI agents operating in ways the developers did not expect, the company said Tuesday.
While the ChatGPT maker stated the incidences occurred during internal code work and were not considered its most serious, the disclosure underscores how even the methods developers use to spot AI misbehavior are vulnerable to the agents they monitor.
The discovery also comes amid rising fears that efforts on AI safety are failing to keep pace with the rapid development of ever more powerful systems. Scientists have cautioned about the emergence of powerful AI agents becoming increasingly autonomous and difficult to monitor and manage.
In recent months, developers including IPO-bound rivals OpenAI and Anthropic have disclosed incidents where their AI agents accessed external systems without authorisation.
In a blog post Tuesday, OpenAI reported that a GPT-6.1 Sol agent on an internal testing task on October 3 disabled automatic security alarms after interpreting an earlier order not to send Slack messages as also covering safety notifications.
Separately, on Oct. 6, an Astra agent using GPT-6 removed a safety monitor when copying an existing piece of code and later stated falsely that it did not do so, OpenAI said.“In both cases, agents thought about keeping monitoring safeguards in place but “interpreted normal coding instructions as permission to weaken them,” the company said.
“OpenAI said it was making it harder for models to disable monitoring, saying it does not ‘yet have a satisfying explanation for this behavior’.
The San Francisco-based company said it was studying whether its models would be inclined to avoid being observed and seek out reasons to justify such behaviour.
Latest News
Makkah pact aims to strengthen collective deterrence among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye
Turkiye sent a defence treaty with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to parliament for ratification on Tuesday, three parliamentary sources said, bringing NATO’s second-largest army closer to a formal mutual defence promise with Riyadh as it fears Houthi threats.
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is an attack on all.
The first clause of the agreement says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eradicate threats to each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.Article 2 of the agreement states, “If one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the parties shall immediately render assistance to the party which is under attack, with all means of mutual assistance at their disposal.”
Similar to NATO’s Article 5, the clause references Article 51 of the UN Charter, which deals with the individual or collective right of states to self-defence against armed attack.
The same page says the three countries “will determine the scope and nature of the support to be provided following an objective assessment of the assistance required” and will collaborate within their available resources, including military capabilities and resources.
Earlier this month, the three countries decided in an emergency alliance conference in Riyadh to guarantee the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.
Turkiye, which has its own strong defence sector, has condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, showed a willingness to help satisfy Riyadh’s military technology demands and agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition to assure navigational safety in the Red Sea.
The pact also foresees tight cooperation on the defence sector, exchange of information, logistical support, and the fight against “all forms of terrorism”, including at the operational level.
Parliamentary approval is required for Turkiye to formally sign off on the pact.
The aim is to “strengthen collective deterrence”
Two sources claimed Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, who is on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, would send the deal to the foreign affairs commission of parliament after he returns. The terms and specifics of the agreement are expected to be released when it is filed with the commission.
The commission may discuss the accord as early as Friday, another person added.
Turkiye’s latest move was an important milestone in the institutionalisation of strategic collaboration between the three countries, Burhanettin Duran, communications director for President Tayyip Erdogan, stated.“This strategic partnership between our countries aims to strengthen collective deterrence, improve joint capabilities in the defence sector and secure security and stability in our region,” Duran said in a post on X.
A Turkish official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Turkey’s own contribution was likely to be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, and no other form of deployment had been made under the alliance so far.
“The Mecca Agreement is not a ‘offensive agreement,’ and Turkiye would not send forces to another nation to conduct out operations on its land. When asked how Turkiye could help Saudi Arabia fight against attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan responded
Turkey’s constitution needs independent parliamentary approval for any deployment of military overseas, regardless of international agreements.
Latest News
Pakistan decide not to participate in Over-50s Cricket World Cup 2027 in India
– Pakistan have decided not to participate in the Over-50 Cricket World Cup 2027 scheduled to take place in India after failing to secure government permission for the tournament.
The competition is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad Deccan from January 23 to February 7, 2027. Pakistan was due to participate as defending champions after winning the 2025 edition in Sri Lanka.
Fawad Ejaz Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), said Indian veterans cricket officials had assured the Pakistani team of visa arrangements and high-level security for the tournament.
He said the association had sought permission to participate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior. However, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi subsequently informed the association that permission would not be granted.
Following the government’s decision, the association decided against sending the team to India, Khan said, adding that the organisation respected the government’s position.
-
Latest News5 months agoICC board meeting in India: Mohsin Naqvi gets invitation
-
Latest News2 months ago‘Self-Reliance in Digital ID’: NADRA launches locally produced QR code-based National Identity Card
-
Latest News3 months ago23 people have died during the monsoon as rain-related incidents plague Punjab and KP.
-
Latest News2 months agoTurkish FM, Dar discuss regional trends, bilateral connections
-
Business3 months agoGovt dedicated to resolving Balochistan issues: Dar
-
Latest News3 months agoPakistan making rapid progress in robotics, AI: Shaza Fatima
-
Entertainment5 months agoInterim bail given to YouTuber Rajab Butt in gambling app marketing case
-
Latest News3 months agoAfter a divorce, LHC decides that women who have been harmed by their spouses get their dower.
