Pakistan’s first astronaut to board Chinese space station

Pakistan is poised to make history as its first astronaut is set to join the Chinese Shenzhou-24 crewed flight mission, according to the China Manned Space Agency. This joint spaceflight between China and Pakistan marks a significant milestone in their space cooperation, representing the first time a foreign astronaut will travel to China's space station. Following a brief stay in orbit, the Pakistani astronaut will return to Earth on board the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.

In February 2025, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement in Islamabad, aimed at selecting and training Pakistani astronauts for missions to China's space station. After three rounds of rigorous selection and assessment, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud were chosen as reserve astronauts. They subsequently enrolled in China's astronaut training program, preparing for the mission.

Once the required training and evaluations are completed, one of the two candidates will embark on the crewed flight mission, while the other will act as a backup.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal announced on October 18 that Pakistan's first astronaut will launch from China's space center on November 25. During the concluding ceremony of World Space Week in Narowal, Iqbal expressed Pakistan's ambition to achieve a lunar landing by 2035. He emphasized that cooperation with China would enable Pakistan to reach new heights in space exploration.