In Beijing, Pakistan has become a new addition to China's growing consortium of partners in an ambitious endeavor to construct a research station on the moon's southern pole. This collaborative effort was marked by the signing of an initial cooperation agreement witnessed by Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
The collaboration between Pakistan and China, as announced by the China National Space Administration, encompasses a wide range of areas, including the engineering and operational aspects of the Chinese lunar base program.
China, with its goal of becoming a prominent spacefaring nation by 2030, has already secured partnerships with countries such as Russia, Venezuela, and South Africa. Furthermore, it has set a target to land its astronauts on the moon by the end of this decade.
This endeavor's timeline to establish a research station on the moon's south pole coincides with NASA's more ambitious Artemis program. The Artemis program is aimed at returning U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface by December 2025, assuming no significant delays in its execution.