Pakistan’s first astronaut to board Chinese space station

Gwadar Pro-

Pakistan is set to make history in its space exploration as one Pakistani astronaut will join the Shenzhou-24 crewed flight mission as a payload specialist, according to an announcement by the China Manned Space Agency on Saturday.

The mission will mark the first joint spaceflight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China’s manned space program, representing a significant milestone in China-Pakistan space cooperation. After completing a short-term stay in orbit, the astronaut will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.

In February 2025, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement in Islamabad to select and train Pakistani astronauts for missions to China’s space station. Following three rounds of rigorous selection and assessment, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were selected as reserve astronauts. They subsequently joined China’s astronaut training program to prepare for the mission.

After completing the required training and evaluations, one of the two candidates will carry out the crewed flight mission while the other will serve as a backup.