Pakistani astronaut to join China's Shenzhou 24 mission to space station

A Pakistani astronaut will join the crew of China's Shenzhou 24 spacecraft on a mission that would make him the first foreign national to board Beijing's space station, state media reported Saturday. China's official news agency Xinhua cited the China Manned Space Agency, and the report did not specify a launch date.

According to the agency, the astronaut would complete a short on-orbit flight and then return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft. The agency said the mission would be the first joint flight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's manned space program.

Earlier this year, Xinhua reported that two Pakistani candidates, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, had begun training alongside their Chinese counterparts. The plan was for one of them to be selected as a payload specialist for a short-term spaceflight mission. The training focused on building hands-on operational skills and also included intensive Chinese language instruction.

The upcoming flight is part of an agreement China and Pakistan signed in February 2025.

As background, the article notes that China is preparing for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030. The United States is seen as China's top space rival, with NASA aiming to land astronauts on the lunar surface in 2028.