Pakistani Astronaut Will Be First Foreigner to Fly to China's Tiangong Station

China plans to launch its Shenzhou 24 mission to the Tiangong space station on Nov. 25, and one of the three people aboard will be a Pakistani astronaut, the first foreigner to travel to the station, according to Universe Today.

The crew will fly on a Long March 2F rocket and rendezvous with the station's Tianhe core module. Universe Today described it as China's 18th crewed spaceflight and the first joint flight of Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of the country's space program.

Who is flying and what the role is

The China Manned Space Agency nominated two candidates from Pakistan's space agency, SUPARCO: Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud. Only one of them will fly. The Pakistani astronaut will join two Chinese crew members, a pilot and a commander, as a payload specialist, Universe Today reported.

The other candidate will serve as the backup astronaut. Once both finish their training in China, one will be chosen for the flight. As with earlier Chinese crewed missions, crew names are not expected to be announced until the day before launch, with the Pakistani astronaut as the exception, the outlet said.

The visitor is expected to spend a week aboard the station and then return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, according to the report.

How the mission came together

February 2025: China and Pakistan signed an agreement under which Pakistani astronauts would be trained and selected for missions to Tiangong.
April 2026: A selection process that included preliminary screenings, secondary evaluations and a final selection concluded, and the two candidates were chosen.
Nov. 25, 2026: Shenzhou 24 is scheduled to launch with the Pakistani astronaut on board.

Why it matters for the space race and for Pakistan

Universe Today called the agreement a historic expansion of China's ambitions in space and a significant shift in the strategic partnership between the two countries. The outlet said the two countries previously cooperated on terrestrial infrastructure and are now working together on deep-space exploration.

For Pakistan, the flight offers a chance to send its first astronaut to space. Universe Today noted that this would put the country ahead of India by close to a year. According to the outlet, India's first crewed mission under its Gaganyaan program is expected to launch no sooner than the second quarter of 2027.

For China, the outlet described the mission as an important step toward the kind of international cooperation that is typical of NASA and the European Space Agency. It said the move also fits with China's lunar ambitions, which are expected to culminate in the International Lunar Research Station.

What to watch next

The next milestones are the final choice between the two Pakistani candidates, which will follow their training in China, and the launch itself on Nov. 25. The Chinese crew members' names are expected to be released only a day before the flight, according to Universe Today. Reports from CGTN, listed by the outlet as further reading, cover the program as well.

For readers who follow spaceflight, the mission is a sign that Tiangong, until now visited only by Chinese crews, is opening to astronauts from partner countries. Universe Today framed it as part of China's growth as a major space power that is now taking on partners.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Universe Today

Cover photo: Shujianyang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

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