Hassan Mossin

astrophysics graduate and research student

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Hassan Mossin is an astrophysics graduate and a research student at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. He was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and studied astrophysics at the University of Toronto. He has trained for suborbital flight simulations, tested space suits and run science payloads in zero gravity.

Early life and background

Mossin was born in Lahore, Pakistan. He attended high school in Saudi Arabia. He has wanted to become an astronaut since he was very young. As a child he watched Apollo mission pictures and videos and wanted to go to space. [1]

Education

In high school Mossin did well, especially in maths and physics. He moved to Canada for university and studied astrophysics at the University of Toronto. During his undergraduate studies he joined many clubs and student organizations. [1]

Career

Mossin had none of four items: a scuba diving license, a pilot license, a skydiving license and an aviation medical. He described these items as bucket list items and asked why he should wait until he was older. He spent a summer studying towards a pilot license. He got a scuba diving license and went skydiving. [1]

Mossin had a call with the director of operations, and he was told that they thought he would be a great fit. He did not have a US visa, and it took him over a year to get one. As soon as he got the visa, he emailed them and said he knew it was very late. They emailed back the same day and said they remembered him. [1]

Mossin trained in Florida, including spacesuit training, suborbital flight simulations and hypoxia training. He went on a zero gravity or microgravity flight. A group including him designed a science experiment, its own scientific payload, over four or five months, and then free floated it to get data. He said he was studying a little about analog habitats and spacesuits. [1]

Views on the commercial space sector

Mossin said the goal now is to build a sustainable infrastructure, because each Apollo mission was a one-off mission. He said the early Cold War issues, where everything was secretive and government funded, are not present now. He said Blue Origin, SpaceX and Vast Space are privately owned. He described the big space companies as essentially a billionaires' playground. [1]

He named Vast Space, Axiom Space and Voyager Technologies as companies building commercial space stations. He said space timelines are not rigid, so delays should be expected. He thinks many people do not realize how quickly access to space will open up. He said he thinks this will give rise to open source science a lot. [1]

Views on the moon and Mars

Mossin described the Artemis program as a stepping stone for Mars and said the eventual goal is to go to Mars. He thinks Mars is probably better to inhabit than the moon because of its atmosphere. He said water has been confirmed on both the moon and Mars. He said helium 4 on Mars could theoretically be useful for nuclear fusion. [1]

He thinks a lunar or Martian base could be built within 10 to 20 years. He thinks orbital mining will come, but may take decades. He does not see moon mining going beyond lunar samples for study, for now. He described printing a wrench or a screwdriver on site, using lunar dust. [1]

Mossin said energy infrastructure is the main bottleneck for a moon base. He said most parts of the moon get about 14.5 days of sunlight followed by 14 days of darkness. He said NASA plans to set up nuclear fission reactors on the moon as part of its moon base missions. [1]

Views on space law and security

Mossin said the Outer Space Treaty bars anyone from owning a celestial body, and that it was signed in 1967. He said the Artemis Accords allow ownership of resources taken from the moon but not of the moon itself. He said other supplemental treaties came into place that covered rescue operations, liability and registration. He said space law is a very emerging and growing field. [1]

He said Russia secretly fired a cannon from the outside of a space station in 1975. He said what the Space Force does is largely classified. He said there are not enough regulations in place, or even any information, about what the Space Force is doing. He thinks the satellite industry can grow rapidly and scale. [1]

Views on careers and students

Mossin said space architects are needed and that this is a very new field that nobody had thought about before. He said the first people to go will most definitely be many different types of scientists. He said one needs a scientific background to do meaningful science. He said that, combined with a little physical training, scuba is the most important example. [1]

He said it is time for students to get the capabilities rather than only the top professionals. He said NUST has a very good rocketry team. He said the NASA systems engineering textbook lays out how to design a CubeSat. He told young Pakistanis watching that this is a great time to get some hands-on experience. [1]

Personal life

Mossin says space is his favorite topic. He plans to go to the moon someday. [1]

Appearances

Date	Title	Where
2026-06-05	A 22-year-old Pakistani's road map to space by 2050	Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Hassan Mossin?

What does Hassan Mossin do?

Hassan Mossin is a research student at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. He has trained for suborbital flight simulations, tested space suits and run science payloads in zero gravity.[1]

Where did Hassan Mossin study?

Hassan Mossin moved to Canada for university and studied astrophysics at the University of Toronto. He attended high school in Saudi Arabia.[1]

Where is Hassan Mossin from?

Hassan Mossin was born in Lahore, Pakistan. He attended high school in Saudi Arabia and moved to Canada for university.[1]

Where did Hassan Mossin train?

Hassan Mossin trained in Florida, including spacesuit training, suborbital flight simulations and hypoxia training. He also went on a zero gravity or microgravity flight.[1]

Does Hassan Mossin want to become an astronaut?

Hassan Mossin has wanted to become an astronaut since he was very young. As a child he watched Apollo mission pictures and videos and wanted to go to space, and he plans to go to the moon someday.[1]

What advice does Hassan Mossin give to young Pakistanis?

Hassan Mossin told young Pakistanis that this is a great time to get some hands-on experience. He said it is time for students to get the capabilities rather than only the top professionals.[1]

References

A 22-year-old Pakistani's road map to space by 2050 . Thought Behind Things , 2026-06-05.

Show the source passages (63 statements)

He is an astrophysics graduate. a 22-year-old astrophysics graduate and research student at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences
He is a research student at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. a 22-year-old astrophysics graduate and research student at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences
He was born in Lahore, Pakistan. main Pakistan Lahore mein hi paida hua tha
He attended high school in Saudi Arabia. Mera high school jo hai phir Saudi Arabia mein tha.
He moved to Canada for university. And I only came to Canada for my university.
He studied astrophysics at the University of Toronto. I went to the University of Toronto for astrophysics as you mentioned earlier.
As a child he watched Apollo mission pictures and videos and wanted to go to space. I remember looking at, you know, pictures and videos of the Apollo missions and I wanted to go to space.
He has wanted to become an astronaut since he was very young. I think since I was very, very young, I always wanted to become an astronaut.
In high school he did well, especially in maths and physics. I did well in high school. I was good with maths and physics.
During his undergraduate studies he joined many clubs and student organizations. I joined a lot of clubs and student organizations and I was very active on campus.
He had none of four items: a scuba diving license, a pilot license, a skydiving license and an aviation medical. The four things were scuba diving license, pilot license, skydiving license, and an aviation medical. I had none of the above.
He described these items as bucket list items and asked why he should wait until he was older. These are bucket list items, but why wait till I'm older? Why not now?
He spent a summer studying towards a pilot license. I spent a summer just uh, really studying all of these things, um, working towards my pilot license.
He got a scuba diving license and went skydiving. I got my scuba diving license, went skydiving.
He had a call with the director of operations, and he was told that they thought he would be a great fit. And I eventually had a call with the director of operations as well, and they told me that they think I'd be a great fit.
He did not have a US visa, and it took him over a year to get one. The only problem was I do not have the US visa. So I took me over a year to get the US visa.
As soon as he got the US visa, he emailed them and said he knew it was very late. the moment I got the US visa, I emailed them and I said, hey, I know it's super late.
They emailed back the same day and said they remembered him. And they emailed back the same day. They were like, yes, of course, I remember you.
He trained in Florida, including spacesuit training, suborbital flight simulations and hypoxia training. And uh, I went to Florida. I did my training. I did um, spacesuit training, suborbital flight simulations, hypoxia training.
He went on a zero gravity or microgravity flight. And I also went on that zero gravity or microgravity flight that you mentioned earlier
A group including him designed a science experiment, its own scientific payload, over four or five months, and then free floated it to get data. That was where we designed a science experiment for four or five months, our own scientific payload, and then we free floated that to get data.
He said he was studying a little about analog habitats and spacesuits. now I'm studying a little bit about analog habitats and spacesuits with them.
He has trained for suborbital flight simulations, tested space suits and run science payloads in zero gravity. Hasaan shares his firsthand experience training for suborbital flight simulations, testing space suits, and running science payloads in zero gravity
He said the goal now is to build a sustainable infrastructure, because each Apollo mission was a one-off mission. I think that now the goal is to build a sustainable infrastructure. I think that's what was missing because every time we sent one of those Apollo missions, it was always a one-off mission
He said the early Cold War issues, where everything was secretive and government funded, are not present now. we don't have the early issues from the Cold War where everything was secretive, everything was government funded, taxpayer dollar, right?
He says Blue Origin, SpaceX and Vast Space are privately owned. Blue Origin, SpaceX, Vast Space, they're all like privately owned.
He described the big space companies as essentially a billionaires' playground. we have all these big space companies that are essentially the billionaires playground.
He names Vast Space, Axiom Space and Voyager Technologies as companies building commercial space stations. we have a bunch of companies aiming to put up their own commercial space stations. Specifically Vast Space, Axiom Space, and Voyager Technologies.
He says space timelines are not rigid, so delays should be expected. Um, of course, everything in space is the timelines are not as rigid, so expect delays.
He thinks many people do not realize how quickly access to space will open up. I don't think everybody realizes how quickly access to space is going to open up.
He said he thinks this will give rise to open source science a lot. I think that this is going to give rise to open source science a lot.
He describes the Artemis program as a stepping stone for Mars. Artemis is the series of missions NASA is doing to get to the moon, is basically a stepping stone for Mars.
He says the eventual goal is to go to Mars. eventually, I guess the goal is to go to Mars.
He thinks Mars is probably better to inhabit than the moon because of its atmosphere. Mars is actually probably in a lot of cases much better to inhabit because of its atmosphere
He thinks orbital mining will come, but may take decades. we will get orbital mining, but it's going to take decades perhaps.
He thinks a lunar or Martian base could be built within 10 to 20 years. a lunar base or a Martian base could be within the next 10 years, 20 years
He does not see moon mining going beyond lunar samples for study, for now. I don't see moon mining to be more than lunar samples, just to study the samples as of yet.
He described printing a wrench or a screwdriver on site, using lunar dust. So, onsite, you can print a wrench or a screwdriver whenever you need, using the lunar dust
He says energy infrastructure is the main bottleneck for a moon base. The main bottleneck is actually energy. Having the right energy infrastructure to power everything that is on the moon.
He says most parts of the moon get about 14.5 days of sunlight followed by 14 days of darkness. most parts of the moon, they get 14.5 days of direct sunlight non-stop. And then they get 14 days of darkness
He says NASA plans to set up nuclear fission reactors on the moon as part of its moon base missions. So what NASA is actually doing that as part of the moon base missions, they're going to be setting up nuclear fission reactors on the moon.
He says the Outer Space Treaty bars anyone from owning a celestial body. And so the Outer Space Treaty dictates that nobody can own any celestial body
He says the Outer Space Treaty was signed in 1967. in 1967, they signed something called the Outer Space Treaty.
He says the Artemis Accords allow ownership of resources taken from the moon but not of the moon itself. called the Artemis Accords. And so those ones really nailed the point home that yes, you can own the resources you extract from the moon, but you cannot but you cannot own the moon itself.
He said other supplemental treaties came into place that covered rescue operations, liability and registration. we had other supplemental treaties come into place that also talked about, uh, you know, rescue operations or liability and registration.
He says Russia secretly fired a cannon from the outside of a space station in 1975. Russia actually fired a cannon in space secretly. They like in 1975, they actually took a cannon, they attached it to the outside of their space station and just shot it and didn't tell anybody.
He said what the Space Force does is largely classified. And so what the space force does is largely classified.
He said there are not enough regulations in place, or even any information, about what the Space Force is doing. But we don't have enough regulations in place or even any information as to what the space force is doing.
He thinks the satellite industry can grow rapidly and scale. But things like satellite industry and stuff like that, that can rapidly grow. That can scale as we want.
He says space law is a very emerging and growing field. I think space law is a very emerging, very growing field right now.
He says water has been confirmed on both the moon and Mars. We have confirmed water on both moon and Mars.
He said space architects are needed and that this is a very new field that nobody had thought about before. So we actually need space architects. That's a very, very new field that nobody's thought about before.
He said the first people to go will most definitely be many different types of scientists. I think the first ones to go are most definitely going to be a lot of different types of scientists.
He said that, combined with a little physical training, scuba is the most important example. But then you combine it with a little bit of the physical training. For example, scuba is the most important.
He said one needs a scientific background to do meaningful science. But again, you need to have the scientific background to really do meaningful science.
He said it is time for students to get the capabilities rather than only the top professionals. I think it's time for the students to get the capabilities rather than only the top professionals.
He says NUST has a very good rocketry team. I know, for example, NUST, that university has a very, very good rocketry team.
He says the NASA systems engineering textbook lays out how to design a CubeSat. the NASA systems engineering textbook, it will lay out the roadmap for you how to design a CubeSat
He told young Pakistanis watching that this is a great time to get some hands-on experience. to any young Pakistanis watching, I think that this is a great time to actually get some hands-on experience
He says space is his favorite topic. It's my favorite topic, space.
He plans to go to the moon someday. inshallah, I will go to the moon someday. That's the plan.
He says helium 4 on Mars could theoretically be useful for nuclear fusion. I believe on Mars, we have helium 4, uh, which theoretically could prove to be useful in some sort of nuclear fusion and stuff.
He cited, as an example, a plane that was very cool and very fast but also very expensive. we had, for example, the Concord, this plane that was super, super cool, super fast, but also super expensive.