China is poised to welcome Pakistani astronauts to the Tiangong Space Station in an attempt to enhance foreign collaboration and achieve space dominance. Meanwhile, Indian astronauts are training to make a 14-day visit to the US-led International Space Station (ISS) that Chinese Tiangong aims to replace.
The youngest space station in the world, Tiangong was developed after China was deliberately excluded from the ISS owing to concerns that the Chinese space program was linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Tiangong was fully assembled in November 2022 and is currently looking to expand, with the addition of new modules.
China is effectively looking to take over a central role in the future of space exploration and research, with the ISS due to be decommissioned some time around 2030. In addition to rivalling the ISS, China is also looking to use its space dominance as its soft power to forge alliances and expand its influence. This entails participation of foreign space agencies.
In October 2023, a China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) representative announced that the space station was willing to host astronauts from other countries. “We extend an invitation to the world and welcome all countries and regions committed to the peaceful use of outer space to cooperate with us and participate in the Chinese space station missions,” said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of CMSA.
It appears that the first astronauts to visit the youngest space station in the world would be from China’s closest ally, Pakistan. On February 28, the CMSA signed an agreement with Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on the selection and training of Pakistani astronauts for upcoming flight missions to China’s Tiangong space station.
The plan calls for both parties to conclude the selection process in around a year, after which the Pakistani candidates will undergo extensive training in China.
The CMSA announced that the Pakistani astronauts will join Chinese taikonauts on short-term flight missions at the Tiangong space station in the coming years. This is the first stage in China’s process of selecting and preparing foreign astronauts to serve on the nation’s space station flight missions.
Chinese experts cited by the state-owned Chinese publication Global Times said the move demonstrates the maturity and reliability of China’s manned space capabilities and represents a significant leap in China’s international collaboration in major space programs.
In what appears to reflect China’s long-term goals of space dominance, Chinese experts pointed out that the country’s goal of reducing the “threshold” for developing nations to access and explore space is also an example of the nation’s fulfillment of its international commitments as a major spacefaring nation.
Kang Guohua, a professor of aerospace engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a senior member of the Chinese Society of Astronautics, told Global Times that the future international astronauts boarding the Chinese space station might perform payload engineering duties. Thus, astronauts from other nations will be free to conduct their own experiments in Tiangong. “This would allow the world to use China’s space station as a space laboratory,” he said.
The Global Times report specifically mentioned, “China has consistently promoted mechanisms for cooperation among developing countries, such as through South-South Cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the BRICS mechanism.”
Additionally, it drew a comparison with the ISS, stating that the US-led space station has only welcomed participants from wealthy nations. Thus, once again positioning itself as a “better alternative” to the ISS.
Having said that, the agreement between China and Pakistan comes months after their common adversary, India, announced that Indian astronauts will visit the ISS in a collaborative effort with the US space agency NASA.
Indian Astronauts (Vyomnauts) Preparing For ISS Trip
A crew of Indian astronauts () will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and travel to the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission.
The mission, a joint effort between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA, will reportedly lift off from Florida sometime in spring. However, neither NASA nor the ISRO has released a date.
“Once docked, the private astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprised of science, outreach, and commercial activities,” according to information available on the official website of NASA.
ISRO announced in November last year that the Indian astronauts Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, who had been selected for the mission, had completed their initial phase of training.
“Towards the goal of accomplishing a joint ISRO-NASA effort to the International Space Station, the two Gaganyatris (Prime-Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Backup-Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair) assigned for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) commenced their training in the U.S.A from the first week of August, 2024. The initial phase of training has been completed successfully by the Gaganyatris,” ISRO said at the time.
Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight, Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, will lead the commercial trip, while Shubhanshu Shukla, an astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organization, will pilot it. Polish project astronaut SÅawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu will assist the two astronauts.
The two selected astronauts have since undergone extensive training with international partners, including NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In January 2025, NASA gave the mission its green light.
The mission marks a big milestone for India, marking its first government-led manned mission to the ISS. While it is testimony to India’s growing and internationally recognized space capabilities, it is just one of the many components of the country’s colossal space ambitions. India’s ultimate space goal is to establish its space station, much like China’s, by 2035.
India’s Space Ambitions Are Taking Flight
In recent times, all space maneuvers have focused on the space race between China and the United States, in addition to Russia, which has mostly been on the fringes.
However, with several successful missions in the past and ambitious launches planned for the upcoming years, there is another nation that has been rapidly catching up and making its way to space.
India is working to establish its own space station—the Bhartiya Antariksh Station (BAS)—by the year 2035. In September 2024, the Indian union cabinet approved the development of its first unit, the BAS-1, which will likely debut by 2028.
However, India’s space station could become a reality only once the Gaganyaan project is launched as envisioned. It remains a top priority for ISRO and the Indian government.
In fact, the approval for BAS-1 essentially means revisions to the scope and funding of the Gaganyaan program, which aims to demonstrate human space flight capability by sending a manned mission to an orbit of 400 kilometres.
The Gaganyaan program will essentially lay the groundwork for future Indian space exploration and the establishment of India’s space station BAS. The first uncrewed test flight under the Gaganyaan program is scheduled sometime later this year.
This uncrewed trip, which will carry the humanoid Vyomitra in a depressurized crew room, will pave the way for more uncrewed flights G2 and G3, and ultimately the crewed flight H1.
The 52-ton BAS is intended to carry a crew of three at first, with the possibility of increasing that number to six in the future. The BAS seeks to support a variety of scientific endeavors, including studies in medicine, life sciences, and interplanetary exploration. It will also provide a platform for space tourism and the utilization of space resources, signaling a significant change toward more commercial uses of space exploration.
Additionally, ISRO is also working out the communication backbone for the forthcoming Gaganyaan, Bharatiya Antariksha Station, and Man on the Moon missions in mission mode.
Realizing its dream of sending astronauts to space and having its space station on par with major world powers is expected to be a historic feat for India. If India succeeds in its ambitions, it will become the fourth country with a space station and make history.
