The University of Karachi is the pioneer university in Pakistan that realized the importance of Space Science and started a subject of Astronomy in 1952 at the Department of Mathematics. The Institute of Space Science and Technology (ISPA) came into existence as an autonomous Research Institute of the University of Karachi in 1994.  After one year, ISPA had introduced M.Phil. / Ph.D. research program first time in Pakistan.
The Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics, also known as by its abbreviation ISPA, is a premier and national research institute of the University of Karachi, engaging the theoretical and applied studies and research into topics pertaining to Astronomy, Astrophysics, Satellite Communication, Space Flight Dynamics, Atmospheric Science, Climatology, GIS & Remote Sensing and other related subjects. The institute has network of various mathematics and physics laboratories located in various universities of Pakistan, while it operates a single Karachi University Astrophysics Observatory.