The China Manned Space Agency has announced that a Pakistani astronaut will take part in the Shenzhou-24 mission to the Tiangong orbital station.
This will be the first time a foreign specialist visits the Chinese station. The astronaut will fly as a payload specialist and make a short flight in orbit.
After completing the mission, he will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. The launch date has not yet been announced, but the flight is expected to take place before the end of 2026.
Two Pakistani pilots, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have been selected as candidates for the flight. They underwent several months of training at China's Astronaut Training Center in Beijing.
The parties signed an agreement on cooperation in the selection and training of Pakistani astronauts in February 2025 in Islamabad. The project is being implemented within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
For China, this is the first joint crewed flight with a foreign participant in the history of the national program. How will this affect further international partnership in space?
Pakistan and China maintain long-standing strategic ties, including joint projects in satellite and navigation. Participation in the mission underscores the expansion of space cooperation between the countries.
China continues to actively develop its orbital station and plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. The Pakistani flight fits into this strategy of space diplomacy.
