A Pakistani astronaut will launch on China's Shenzhou 24 mission before the end of November and become the first international visitor to the Tiangong space station. The astronaut was selected from two Pakistani military pilots, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, who trained at the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing following a February 2025 agreement between the two countries.
The Pakistani astronaut will fly as a payload specialist alongside two Chinese colleagues on Shenzhou 24. While the Chinese astronauts will remain aboard Tiangong for six months, the Pakistani visitor will spend roughly a week in orbit before returning to Earth on the departing Shenzhou 23 spacecraft with two Chinese astronauts completing their six-month stay.
This arrangement modifies China's standard crew rotation protocol. One Shenzhou 23 astronaut will stay behind to complete China's first year-long orbital stay, with the Pakistani astronaut taking that crew member's seat for the return journey.
During his time in space, the Pakistani astronaut will manage four research payloads selected from more than 300 proposals submitted through Pakistan's space agency, SUPARCO. China's human spaceflight agency confirmed the mission on November 7. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated on November 9 that the flight "will mark the first-ever joint mission of Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's manned space program."
Shenzhou 24 will launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 2F rocket. The crew identities will be revealed at a press conference one day before launch, as is standard practice for Chinese human spaceflight missions.