By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: China has chosen two Pakistani astronauts as candidates for its manned space program, a step that will send one of them into orbit aboard the Tiangong space station as the first foreign national to fly on a Chinese spacecraft, state media reported on Wednesday.
The candidates, identified as Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have passed multiple rounds of selection and will soon travel to China for advanced astronaut training at the Astronaut Centre of China, according to reports from state broadcaster CCTV and the official China Daily newspaper. One will serve as a payload specialist on a future mission to the Tiangong station, planned for launch in late 2026.
The China Manned Space Agency described the selection as “a landmark event in the history of China’s space industry,” signaling Beijing’s expanding effort to internationalise its orbital outpost at a time when it remains excluded from the International Space Station.
Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) confirmed the development in a statement, saying the two men will depart for China “to begin advanced astronaut training.” The agency called the move “a significant step forward in Pakistan’s space exploration journey,” positioning Islamabad among the small group of nations actively involved in human spaceflight.
Under the arrangement, the selected Pakistani astronaut will conduct scientific experiments in microgravity during the mission. The work will span material science, fluid physics, life and bioscience, and biotechnology, with potential applications in climate resilience, food security and industrial innovation, Suparco said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the development, calling it “a harbinger of deep space exploration” and “yet another testimony” of the enduring Pakistan-China friendship, according to the statement.
The selection follows a formal cooperation agreement signed in February 2025 between Suparco and the China Manned Space Agency. Under that pact, two Pakistanis were to receive training in China, with one assigned to a mission aboard Tiangong. In February of this year, the two candidates completed advanced medical, psychological and aptitude assessments at the Chinese training center, Pakistan’s military media wing reported at the time.
Xinhua News Agency, citing the China Manned Space Agency, said the Pakistanis will initially serve as reserve astronauts during training. The collaboration builds on years of joint work between the two countries in space. Pakistan and China have previously cooperated on satellite launches and lunar exploration projects. The latest agreement comes as Beijing, barred since 2011 by US law from participating in the International Space Station, has actively courted international partners to broaden participation in its own three-module orbiting laboratory.
Tiangong, which has been continuously crewed by Chinese astronauts since 2022, has hosted experiments from several countries, but no foreign astronaut has yet flown aboard it. The inclusion of a Pakistani crew member would mark a symbolic and operational expansion of China’s human spaceflight program. For Pakistan, the mission represents its first direct involvement in human spaceflight. Suparco has framed the effort as preparation for broader ambitions in orbital research, with the microgravity experiments expected to yield data applicable to Pakistani priorities in agriculture, environmental monitoring and advanced manufacturing.
Officials in both countries have cast the partnership as a natural extension of their long-standing strategic ties, which include major infrastructure projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Space cooperation, they say, offers a new frontier for that relationship.
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