China plans Pakistani astronaut’s Shenzhou-24 space-station visit

China plans to send a Pakistani payload specialist to its space station on Shenzhou-24, with a short stay followed by a return aboard Shenzhou-23. The China Manned Space Agency set out that mission assignment in a November 7, 2026 announcement.

The agency describes this as the station’s first planned visit by a foreign astronaut and the crewed programme’s first joint flight of Chinese and foreign astronauts.

The agency said two Pakistani candidates were selected through initial, secondary and final assessments. Once they complete training in China and pass the required evaluations, one will fly and the other will serve as the mission’s backup.

Associated Press identified the two candidates as Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, citing earlier Xinhua reporting. Its November 7 account said their preparation alongside Chinese astronauts included operational training and Chinese-language instruction.

The selection programme began under an agreement signed by China and Pakistan in Islamabad in February 2025. The November notice now specifies Shenzhou-24 for the outbound flight and Shenzhou-23 for the return.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated the planned payload-specialist flight at a November 9 briefing, according to a Xinhua report published by China’s embassy in Laos on November 10.

The November 7 agency notice names neither the final flight astronaut nor the backup, gives no launch date and describes the visit only as a short stay. Training and assessment remain prerequisites in that announcement.