Pakistan Astronaut to Fly to China’s Space Station on Shenzhou-24

Pakistan is set to send its first astronaut into space, after China confirmed that a Pakistani crew member will fly to its Tiangong space station aboard the Shenzhou-24 mission. The China Manned Space Agency announced the decision on Saturday, 7 November, describing it as the first joint crewed flight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China’s human spaceflight programme.

The Pakistani astronaut will travel as a payload specialist, the crew role responsible for the scientific experiments and equipment carried on the flight. After a short stay in orbit, the visitor will return to Earth aboard Shenzhou-23, the spacecraft already docked at the station.

FAKTA

• Mission: Shenzhou-24 to China’s Tiangong space station
• Role: Pakistani astronaut as payload specialist
• Historic firsts: first foreign national aboard Tiangong; first joint Chinese–foreign crewed flight
• Candidates: pilots Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud
• Return: aboard Shenzhou-23 after a short stay in orbit
• Launch date: not yet announced

A first for both countries

For Pakistan, the flight marks a milestone decades in the making: no Pakistani has ever travelled to space. For China, it is the first time its station will welcome a foreign guest. Tiangong has operated since 2021 and was fully assembled in 2022, but until now every crew member aboard has been Chinese.

The announcement was carried by China’s official news agency Xinhua and reported by the Associated Press and Reuters. The space agency said the Pakistani astronaut would take part in the Shenzhou-24 crewed flight, but it did not name the crew member or give a launch date. Pakistan’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, had said in October that the mission would take place on 25 November, although the Chinese statement gave no date and said only that the flight is expected before the end of the year.

Two pilots, one seat

Two Pakistani pilots are in line for the flight. Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud were chosen after three rounds of assessments and have spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing. One of them will fly; the other will serve as backup.

Both completed the medical, psychological and aptitude evaluations required for a crewed mission. Neither country has said publicly which of the two will fly.

A partnership years in the making

The flight grows out of an agreement signed in Islamabad in February 2025, when Pakistan’s space agency, SUPARCO, and the China Manned Space Agency agreed to select and train Pakistani astronauts for missions to the Chinese station. Under the deal, two Pakistanis would train in China and one would fly to Tiangong.

The mission is more than a single flight. It opens a new chapter in Pakistan’s space programme and deepens a partnership that has already seen the two countries cooperate on satellites and space science. If it proceeds as announced, a Pakistani will soon be working aboard a space station — a first for the country and a first for China’s station. Follow the story with Watan News.