Pakistani Astronaut to Fly on China’s Shenzhou 24

China’s Manned Space Agency says a Pakistani astronaut will join the crew of the Shenzhou 24 mission, becoming the first foreign visitor to China’s space station. The astronaut will serve as a payload specialist on a short orbital flight, then return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft, the agency said.

The agency has not identified the astronaut or announced a launch date. Some reports say the mission is expected by the end of 2026, but that timing has not been confirmed as an official schedule.

The planned flight would be the first joint mission involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in China’s crewed space program, according to the agency’s announcement. It is part of a cooperation agreement China and Pakistan signed in February 2025, which established a program for Pakistani astronauts to train in China and undertake short missions with Chinese counterparts.

Two Pakistani pilots, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were reported to have begun training in China as candidates for a payload-specialist flight. Their training does not establish which astronaut, if either, has been selected for Shenzhou 24. A Pakistani space agency official told Reuters in September...