Pakistan astronaut to join Chinese crew on historic space station mission
The mission will be the first joint flight with a foreign astronaut in China's manned space program.
BEIJING · A Pakistani astronaut will join the crew of China's Shenzhou 24 spacecraft, becoming the first foreign national to board the country's Tiangong space station. The China Manned Space Agency announced the mission on Saturday, according to state news agency Xinhua. The mission will mark the first joint flight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's manned space program. The agency did not name the crew member or specify a launch date, but said the flight is expected by the end of the year. The Pakistani astronaut will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft, which docked at the station in May.
The seat comes from an astronaut training agreement that Pakistan's space agency, SUPARCO, and China's manned space agency signed in February 2025. Under that agreement, two Pakistanis would train in China and one would fly to Tiangong. In April, China named pilots Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud as the candidates. Their training alongside Chinese astronauts focused on hands on operational skills and included "intensive Chinese language instruction." The plan was that one of them would be selected as a payload specialist for a short term spaceflight mission.
Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, met the two candidates in April and called the mission a "matter of pride for the entire nation." Pakistan's planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, said at a ceremony in October that the mission would take place on November 25. The Chinese statement did not confirm that specific date, saying only that it is expected by the end of the year. The agency reported that the Pakistani astronaut would complete a short on orbit flight.
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Training and Preparation
The training for the two Pakistani candidates began earlier this year. Xinhua reported that they started their training alongside their Chinese counterparts. While the training focused on developing hands on operational capabilities, it also involved the intensive language instruction to facilitate communication aboard the Chinese station. The selection of a payload specialist indicates the astronaut's role will be related to conducting specific experiments or operating specialized equipment during the mission. The mission represents a significant step for China's space diplomacy and its ambitions to position the Tiangong station as an international platform. While the International Space Station has hosted astronauts from many nations for decades, China has been excluded from that partnership. This flight with Pakistan is China's first step in opening its own station to foreign crew members, creating an alternative venue for human spaceflight cooperation.
The Broader Space Race
The announcement comes as both China and the United States pursue ambitious lunar goals. China is preparing for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030. The United States is seen as China's top space rival, with NASA aiming to land astronauts on the lunar surface in 2028. The parallel lunar timelines highlight the competitive nature of modern space exploration between the two superpowers.
China's collaboration with Pakistan highlights a different axis of space cooperation. The two countries have close diplomatic and military ties, and the space mission further cements that relationship. The successful flight of a Pakistani astronaut would demonstrate the operational readiness of China's space station for international guests and could pave the way for similar agreements with other nations. The China Manned Space Agency has not released further details about the mission's scientific objectives. The focus of the announcement was on the historic nature of the joint flight itself. The mission is expected to launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.
With files from Yahoo News, The Seattle Times and KTVN