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n July 31, Pakistan launched its latest remote-sensing satellite, the PRSC-EOS, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China.
In 1962, Pakistan had become the third country in Asia, after Japan and Israel, to send a space-bound vehicle named Rehbar-I. It was a sounding rocket, launched to a height of 130 kilometres under the visionary leadership. The establishment of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission in 1961 was a strategic initiative for the establishment of space science into the national narrative. Dr Abdus Salam, later a Nobel laureate in physics, believed that “no nation can claim greatness if it does not invest in science.”
Pakistan’s scientific institutions have always suffered on account of underfunding, political upheavals and bureaucratic inefficiency. Brain drain, irregular leadership and inadequate long-term investment strategies caused SUPARCO to stagnate.
As of 2024, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists Satellite Database, China has more than 500 active satellites. It also has strong programmes in lunar exploration, development of space stations and interplanetary missions. The Indian space agency, ISRO, has launched more than 400 satellites and milestone missions such as Chandrayaan-3 (moon) and Mangalyaan (mars). The United Arab Emirates has entered the space race with its Hope Probe, and is in Martian orbit, having arrived in February of 2021.
In comparison, Pakistan has fewer than 10 active satellites, mostly built and launched at foreign countries
The latest Pakistani satellite, PRSC-EOS (Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite - Earth Observation Satellite) carries high-resolution electro-optical sensors. The imaging is vital in environmental monitoring, disaster response and development planning. Such imaging is not a luxury, but a national necessity.
Pakistan was ranked among the 10 most affected nations in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021. The 2022 monsoon floods resulted in the deaths of more than 1,700 people, the displacement of 33 million people and damage to the economy of more than $33 billion, according to the World Bank Post-Disaster Needs Assessment of 2023. It has been hit hard by heatwaves, droughts, glacial lake outbursts and urban flooding. Pakistan does not have an effective early warning/forecasting system. Its responses to natural disasters are therefore mostly reactive, not proactive. This is where PRSC-EOS can be a game-changer. The satellite will enable early warning systems, rescue missions, urban expansion and climate-related policy formulation. It will provide real-time geospatial intelligence.
One of the sectors the PRSC-EOS promises to change the most is the agriculture sector, which has a GDP contribution of over 19 percent and accounts for nearly 38 percent of the workforce. The sector is increasingly vulnerable on account of unreliable rainfall, soil erosion, plant diseases and poor irrigation. According to a Pakistan Agricultural Research Council report in 2023, satellite-based precision farming techniques could increase yields by 20-25 percent even in the already climate-stressed provinces such as the Punjab and Sindh. The satellite imagery can also monitor crop health and help water stress management and optimisation of fertilizers use. This can help improve food security and farmers’ incomes and minimise damage to the environment from over-irrigation or overexposure to chemicals.
This satellite carries high-resolution electro-optical sensors. Detailed imaging is vital in environmental monitoring, disaster response and development planning.
It will also strengthen the execution and enforcement of key infrastructure projects in general and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in particular. When CPEC reaches Phase Two, involving special economic zones, modernisation of agriculture and logistics, satellite information will be essential to optimize land use, assessment of environmental impacts, route selection, detection of unauthorised encroachments and the assessment of construction progress and adherence.
PRSC-EOS will also improve data sovereignty. In the modern world, the countries capable of organising real-time geospatial awareness are better prepared to manage natural disasters, military threats, epidemics and urban planning problems. Pakistan needs to end its dependence on the use of external websites like Google Earth, NASA and individual satellite dealers.
PRSC-EOS is also part of a national programme to restore and build indigenous space capability. In January 2025, the PRSC-EO1, the first Earth Observation satellite developed and built completely by Pakistani engineers and scientists, was launched. It was a turning point; the mission was a restoration of faith in local innovation. PAUSAT-1, developed by Air University, Islamabad, in collaboration with Istanbul Technical University, emphasized the prospect of academia-industry ties. The successes represent a new devotion to capacity-building, science schooling and patriotic pride in innovation.
The levels of investment Pakistan makes in space science remains very low. According to the World Bank research spending on scientific and technical research it is less than 0.0005 percent of the GDP. India, China and the United Arab Emirates meanwhile spend 0.7 percent, 2.4 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Although the National Space Policy and Vision 2047 in Pakistan list high-end goals, including sustainability, technology localisation, and industrial development, there are no mechanisms to ensure adequate budgets for education, institutional transformation and financial sustainability.
Pakistan needs to initiate a National Space Education and Innovation Policy to make this moment a movement. It can become a scientific goldmine with more than 60 percent of its population below the age of 30. However, only a small fraction of its students today is exposed to satellite technology, aerospace systems and geospatial analytics. The most important reforms would be including space science modules in school programmes, providing STEM scholarships for studies in satellite engineering and aerospace, launching research clusters in these fields in the universities, setting up incubation centres of space-tech startups and creating adequate laboratories at NUST, GIKI, PIEAS and Air and Defense Universities.
The author is cyber securityanalyst. He has an MPhil incybercrime and is currentlypursuing a PhD incomputer science