A Pakistani astronaut will join China's Shenzhou-24 crewed mission to the Tiangong space station, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Saturday 7 November, becoming the first foreign national to visit the station.

The astronaut will fly as a payload specialist, carry out a short-term flight in orbit and return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. The mission will be the first joint flight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's manned space programme, Chinese state media reported.

The astronaut will take part in space science experiments and related in-orbit work, carrying out Pakistan's scientific experiments and space application tasks aboard the station.

Two candidates trained in Beijing

China has not identified which astronaut will fly. Two Pakistani pilots, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing, a Pakistani space agency official told Reuters in September. One of the two will carry out the flight while the other serves as backup.

The two were chosen through a three-stage selection and assessment process after China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement on astronaut selection, training and participation in Chinese space station missions in February 2025. The agreement, signed in Islamabad, formally launched astronaut selection from Pakistan.

Beijing has not announced a launch date for Shenzhou-24. The mission is part of bilateral cooperation under China's Belt and Road Initiative, and it marks a new step in the space partnership between the two countries.