Pakistan wants to quickly determine the precise roles it might play in the China-led International Lunar Research Station and sign a cooperation agreement on it.
Pakistan wants to quickly determine the precise roles it might play in the China-led International Lunar Research Station and sign a cooperation agreement on it, according to the head of Pakistan’s space agency.
SUPARCO Chairman Amer Nadeem made the remarks while touring the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in southeast China last month.
The ILRS is expected to function as a full-fledged, permanent base for lunar exploration by 2050.
During his visit to the lab in Hefei, Anhui province, Nadeem was given an update on the project’s status and, according to the lab’s website, “conducted in-depth exchanges” with Wu Weiren, the director and chief designer of the Chinese lunar exploration programme.
Wu was quoted as saying, “We welcome Pakistan to fully engage in the ILRS, foster close partnership with the laboratory, and set an example for working together to build a shared future for mankind in space.”
Since the China National Space Administration published its first road map for the ILRS in 2021, six nations and international organisations have signed letters of intent or cooperation agreements. Pakistan is one of them.
Wu stated at the international conference on deep space exploration held by the lab in April that China is also in talks to participate with more than ten other nations.
In the field of space, Pakistan and China have been strategic allies for three decades. Since 1992, China has assisted Pakistan in the creation and launch of numerous satellites, including communications and remote sensing satellites.
As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the two countries signed a number of agreements in 2019 related to space exploration. They include China sending Pakistani astronauts to the recently completed Tiangong space station in low-Earth orbit and assisting in their training.
Wu added that ICUBE-Q, a Pakistani CubeSat that will fly to the moon in 2026 as part of China’s Chang’e 6 mission and search for signs of water ice, was progressing smoothly.
Wu told Nadeem during their meeting that “China and Pakistan are good brothers and good partners, with a great tradition in aerospace cooperation.”
Nadeem was invited by Wu to return to the lab the following year and take part in the conference on international space exploration.
In recent months, senior representatives from other national space agencies, including those from Venezuela and Brazil, have also paid a visit to the lab in Hefei and expressed their desire to join the International Lunar Research Station.
The Artemis Accords, a separate, US-led international initiative to send people to the moon, eventually Mars, and beyond, recently added Spain as the 25th signatory.