Representation matters. Many decades ago, I read Carl Sagan’s novel Contact. It centred around a message from extraterrestrials that led to the building of “the Machine” that would take five people on a voyage to the centre of our Galaxy.

The film version had only one seat and that was occupied by an American, played by Jodie Foster. However, the novel spent a lot of time on global cooperation on deciphering the message and, then, on the selection of the crew that would represent the Earth.

Pakistan was not one of the five countries. However, it was briefly mentioned for its “surprisingly large delegation” in the deciphering efforts and, once again, a line about Pakistan’s bid for one of the seats. These were two small references, but they painted a domain of possibilities and I still remember it decades after reading the novel.

There is now a tremendous opportunity in real life. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) recently signed an agreement, where the CMSA will train astronauts from Pakistan to participate in the Chinese space station, Tiangong. This follows the announcement of a rover from Pakistan to be a part of the Chinese Chang’e 8 mission to the lunar south pole in 2028.

It’s a seminal moment for space exploration in Pakistan as its astronauts prepare to go to space with China. But the real challenge is to ensure it becomes a launchpad for a broader scientific awakening and not a tool for jingoism...

A Pakistani in orbit and a rover from the country on the Moon!

If planned appropriately, these missions can serve as an inspiration to pursue science and to build curiosity among millions of school-going kids in the country.

JOSTLING FOR SPACE

The past couple of weeks have seen landings on the Moon by two private US-based space companies. One was successful and the other highlights the significant challenges of such endeavours. A private company from Japan will attempt its lunar landing in May.

At the national level, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) currently has the Hope orbiter around Mars, while India has had impressive success with the discovery of water ice on the Moon with its Chandrayaan-1 orbiter, and then the successful lunar landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. Korea and Turkiye have announced their ambitious plans, including lunar missions in the next couple of years, whereas the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) are continuing with their impressive progress. In addition, the African Space Agency, modelled after ESA, will be formally inaugurated next month in Cairo.

At the same time, the traditional leader in space exploration and the envy of all other such programmes, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), is facing uncertainty due to the unprecedented cuts from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In fact, the broader assault on research and universities is likely going to hamper US science for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, the Chinese space programme is in the ascendency. After bringing samples from the near-side of the Moon, China became the first country to not only send a rover to the lunar far-side, but to bring samples back from there. It also became the first country after the US to successfully land a spacecraft on Mars. The Chinese Zhurong rover recently found evidence of an ancient ocean and a beach shoreline on the Red Planet.

China has recently announced an ambitious 25-year roadmap to become a leader in space by 2050. This plan includes a search for habitable exoplanets, telescopes in space, a sample return mission from Mars, human settlements on the Moon and even scooping and bringing back a sample of the atmosphere of Venus.

Considering the current tumult in US science, China may become an undisputed leader in space well before 2050.

A SEAT AT THE SPACE TABLE

It is Pakistan’s fortune to be a close ally of this space superpower. It is then no coincidence that China has picked astronauts from Pakistan to be the first ones to visit the Tiangong space station. This provides Pakistan with an amazing opportunity to build an interest not just in space, but in broader sciences as well. Satellites and robotic probes are interesting, but nothing generates excitement and engagement like human spaceflight.

Of course, there will be a temptation to waste the opportunity in senseless jingoism. Yes, space, and in particular human spaceflight, provided a political theatre during the Cold War. But that doesn’t make it right.

Furthermore, Pakistan will be relying heavily on Chinese technical and scientific expertise, whereas India has an outstanding and largely indigenous space programme. In fact, India plans to build its own space station in the coming decade.

Similarly, it will be a colossal loss if much of the relevant activities are shrouded in secrecy, either for defence purposes or for the fear of exposing a failure.

The timeframe for the astronaut programme is on the scale of year, and the Chang’e 8 mission with Pakistan’s lunar rover is expected to launch in 2028. This provides enough time to properly build and launch educational and public outreach plans around space, with an eye towards the future.

One of the best ways would be to include some of the science behind the space station and missions to the Moon in the curriculum. Some of the topics are already part of the curriculum. But it is the specificity of imagining a fellow Pakistani in the space station that will excite the kids.

For earlier school grades, the focus can be on the weightlessness that humans experience on the space station and how the body responds to it. For higher grades, it can be about orbits, gravity, laws of motion and biological changes that humans experience in space.

This is a daunting task. Such a change in the curriculum cannot be enacted at short notice. However, modules can be created for different classes in Urdu, English and local provincial languages. These modules ought to be available online, free of cost and on paper, where necessary, and should include a guide for teachers as well.

Similarly, places of informal learning can play a crucial role. Science museums such as The MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi and the recently opened Joy of Science in Lahore are already bringing the excitement of science to kids and adults. They can use the occasion to bring the science of the space station and lunar surface to the public.

SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY

Cynics would argue, with some justification, that this is just a taxi-ride to the space station. Some tourists have indeed paid their way to the International Space Station (ISS). In other cases, however, countries have taken advantage of such opportunities.

For example, UAE’s first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansoori, spent eight days at the ISS in 2019. The Gulf nation used that as an inspiration to build an ambitious space programme. In 2023, another UAE astronaut, Sultan Al Neyadi, became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

Pakistan does not have the resources of the UAE. This makes the opportunity to go to the Tiangong space station all the more significant. Most countries on the scale of Pakistan’s economy do not get such an opportunity. Even a

brief mission of this nature will require a significant effort and training on part of the astronauts. But the real opportunity lies beyond the trip to the space station. It is what we do to inspire kids and adults that will make the mission a success or a failure.

We know from the poet Iqbal that “sitaaron se aagay jahaan aur bhi hain” [Other worlds exist beyond the stars]. In order to find them — or perhaps go there one day — we must start with small steps. A mission to the space station may just be the perfect vehicle for such an aspiration.

The writer is Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities at Hampshire College, US. He is also an astronomer affiliated with the Five College Astronomy Department in Massachusetts and hosts an Urdu language YouTube channel, Kainaat Astronomy

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 23rd, 2025