China says a Pakistani astronaut has been selected to join the Shenzhou-24 mission, a flight that would make the visitor the first foreign national to travel to China’s Tiangong space station. The announcement was reported Saturday by Chinese state media and independently by the Associated Press and Reuters.

The China Manned Space Agency said the astronaut will serve as a payload specialist and spend a short period in orbit. The astronaut is expected to return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. Chinese authorities have not announced a launch date or identified the selected astronaut.

Selection follows joint training

Two Pakistani candidates, pilots Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have been training with Chinese astronauts in Beijing. Reuters reported that a Pakistani space-agency official said in September that the candidates were preparing for the mission. Earlier reporting said one would be selected for the short-duration flight.

The flight is part of a China-Pakistan agreement signed in February 2025. If it proceeds as announced, it will be the first joint mission involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in China’s human spaceflight program. The plan also marks a new step in China’s effort to broaden international participation in its space station activities.

The mission’s name refers to Shenzhou-24, while the agencies’ reports say the visitor is expected to return on Shenzhou-23. The public announcement did not explain the operational details of that arrangement, so those remain unclear.

Sources

Associated Press: Pakistani astronaut to board Shenzhou 24 and become the first foreigner on China’s space station

Reuters: Pakistani astronaut to join China space station’s Shenzhou-24 mission