Pakistani Astronaut to Visit China's Tiangong Station

A Pakistani astronaut will fly to China’s Tiangong space station on the Shenzhou-24 mission and will be the first foreigner to visit it. The China Manned Space Agency announced this on Saturday, according to Beijing’s state media.¹²³ The stay will be brief, about one week according to Space, and the guest will take part in the mission as a payload specialist.²⁴

What the Mission Involves

Citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), state broadcaster CCTV reported that the astronaut will make a short-duration orbital flight. They will then return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.² Shenzhou-23 docked with the Tiangong station in May. It had launched from the Jiuquan launch center on May 24, 2026.³ According to CCTV, this is the first spaceflight in the history of China’s crewed space program to carry both Chinese and foreign astronauts. The mission is part of bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s plan for international investment and partnerships.²

Who the Astronaut Is and When They Will Launch

Beijing has not disclosed the name of the Pakistani who will fly. In April, the CMSA had named Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud as the two astronauts selected to begin training in China.²³ An official at Pakistan’s space agency told Reuters in September that the two pilots had been training for months at Beijing’s astronaut training and research center.² Beijing has not announced the departure date either. The statement does not give one, but the mission is expected by the end of the year. In October, Pakistan’s Minister of Planning, Ahsan Iqbal, mentioned November 25 during a ceremony.²³

The Link Between Pakistan and China

In February 2025, Pakistan’s space agency SUPARCO and the CMSA signed an agreement providing for two Pakistanis to train in China. One of the two was expected to take part in a mission to the Tiangong station.³ In April, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met the two candidates and described the mission as a source of pride for the entire nation. He expressed the hope that it would add new dimensions to the brotherly ties between Pakistan and China.³ China is Pakistan’s main trading partner and a major foreign investor. Beijing has invested heavily in its space program and aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.³

What Changes

For the first time, the Chinese station will host a person from another country. As CCTV presents it, this step falls within Beijing’s space diplomacy.¹² China has been excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States barred NASA from cooperating with Chinese agencies. Since then, Beijing has been seeking partners for its program, including Pakistan.³ However, the astronaut’s name and the launch date, which Beijing has not announced, remain open questions.²³

This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Pakistani astronaut to board Shenzhou 24 and become the first foreigner on China’s space station, ABC News (US) · International, 2026-11-07 ↩ ↩²

2. Pakistani astronaut to join China space station’s Shenzhou-24 mission, The Express Tribune, 2026-11-07 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

3. Pakistani astronaut to join Shenzhou-24 mission to China’s space station, Dawn, 2026-11-07 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. Pakistani astronaut set to become 1st international visitor to China’s Tiangong space station this month, Space, 2026-11-12 ↩