Pakistani Astronaut to Fly on Shenzhou-24 as First Foreigner on China's Space Station

According to the agency's announcement, carried by the state news agency Xinhua, the Pakistani crew member will make a short flight in orbit and then return to Earth on the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, which is already docked at the station. The agency described the mission as the first joint flight of Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's crewed space programme.

The flight shows China turning its space station into a diplomatic tool. Beijing built and has run Tiangong on its own, and it is the only operating alternative to the International Space Station. Flying a partner country's astronaut gives China its first test of hosting foreign crew, as it competes with the United States for international partners in low Earth orbit and on the Moon.

The agency did not say when Shenzhou-24 will launch or which of Pakistan's two candidates will fly. Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud began training alongside Chinese astronauts earlier this year, and one of them is to be chosen for the mission. According to the Associated Press, the training focused on hands-on operational skills and included intensive Chinese language instruction.

The flight is part of an agreement China and Pakistan signed in February 2025. Earlier schedules had pointed to a launch in October, which has now passed.

Shenzhou-23 lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on May 24, 2026. Shenzhou-24 is the next crew rotation to the station. The visiting Pakistani astronaut will return on the older spacecraft, leaving the newer one at the station for the long-duration crew.

China is also preparing for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030. NASA aims to land astronauts on the Moon in 2028. Chinese officials have said for several years that Tiangong would be opened to foreign astronauts, and Pakistan is the first country to take up the offer.

The Shenzhou-24 crew, including which Pakistani candidate flies, has not yet been announced. China has usually named its crews only on the eve of launch.