Pakistani astronaut will become first foreign national to enter Chinese space station

CNN — A Pakistani astronaut will become the first foreign national aboard China’s Tiangong space station, as Beijing steps up space diplomacy amid a burgeoning battle with the United States for supremacy in orbit.The mission of the Pakistani astronaut – who is yet to be selected – tightens already close space ties between Beijing and Islamabad. Last year, Pakistan sent a satellite to the Moon aboard China’s lunar explorer, alongside payloads from the European Space Agency, France, and Italy, according to Chinese state media.Tiangong is one of two currently operating space stations, alongside the International Space Station, launched in 1998. Since it started operating in 2021, it has only hosted Chinese astronauts.The mission is “a significant step in the internationalization of the Chinese space station,” said Quentin Parker, an astrophysicist and professor at the University of Hong Kong.“When you internationalize things properly, you build something greater than the sum of the parts, and that’s true in the internationalization of the space station,” he said.