Pakistani Astronaut Expected to Join China's Shenzhou 24 Mission

China’s Shenzhou 24 mission is planned to carry one Pakistani astronaut to the Tiangong space station, alongside two Chinese astronauts. Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, or SUPARCO, says the astronaut will handle research payloads during the mission.

Key details

• SUPARCO says the astronaut will work with four research payloads chosen from more than 300 proposals.
• The two Pakistani candidates named in press reports are Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud; the astronaut selected for the flight has not been identified.
• The candidates trained at the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing.
• Shenzhou 24 is expected to launch before November 30, 2026, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 2F rocket.
• The Pakistani astronaut is expected to spend about one week aboard Tiangong and return to Earth on Shenzhou 23.
• One of the three Shenzhou 23 astronauts is expected to remain aboard the station for about a year.
• China and Pakistan reached an agreement on astronaut selection in Islamabad in February 2025.

SUPARCO says the Pakistani astronaut will work with four research payloads selected from more than 300 proposals.

Why it matters

The planned flight would bring Pakistan into a crewed mission to Tiangong, with the astronaut assigned a research role. The four payloads came from a pool of more than 300 proposals, according to SUPARCO.