A Pakistani astronaut is preparing to join China’s upcoming Shenzhou-24 mission as a payload specialist, making history as the first foreign national to visit the Tiangong space station, Al Jazeera reported.
While the China Manned Space Agency did not name the specific crew member in its Saturday announcement, federal officials in Islamabad have pointed to a firm timeline for the launch. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal stated that the historic flight is scheduled to blast off from China's space center on November 25, marking an important advancement in bilateral space cooperation under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, according to reporting by Dawn.
Training in Beijing and the Path to Tiangong
The groundwork for this mission began in February 2025, when the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and the China Manned Space Agency signed a formal cooperation agreement in Islamabad. That pact established a dedicated Chinese government training program designed to prepare Pakistani candidates for human spaceflight.
Following three rounds of rigorous medical, psychological, and aptitude assessments overseen by the Pakistani military’s media wing, military pilots Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud were selected as reserve astronauts. Both men spent months at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing, enduring intensive Chinese language lessons alongside practical operational exercises. According to Business Recorder, one of the two candidates will execute the crewed flight while the other serves as a backup.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with both pilots in April, praising their selection as a matter of pride for the entire nation and expressing hope that the mission would deepen ties between the two countries, as noted by Dawn.
Pakistan Payload Specialist Joins Tiangong Station Mission
The mission structure relies on a precise orbital handover. State media reports indicate that the Pakistani payload specialist will participate in a short-term in-orbit flight aboard the Tiangong space station before returning to Earth on the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, which docked at the orbiting outpost in May.
Beyond the immediate crewed mission, the partnership extends deep into lunar exploration. The China National Space Administration plans to deploy Jinnah-1, Pakistan’s inaugural lunar rover. Weighing 35 kilograms and equipped with specialized scientific instruments, the rover is tasked with analyzing plasma behavior, radiation, and lunar soil composition. Minister Iqbal added that Pakistan aims to achieve a lunar landing by 2035, using cooperation with China to help the country expand its space exploration.
