Overview
- The China Manned Space Agency, which on Wednesday named Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud as Pakistan’s astronaut candidates, said both will begin advanced training in Beijing at the Astronaut Centre of China.
- After they finish training and pass assessments, officials expect one to join a Shenzhou crew as a payload specialist on Tiangong, which would make them the station’s first foreign visitor and Pakistan’s first astronaut.
- Pakistan’s space agency said the mission is targeted for the end of 2026 with experiments in materials science, fluid physics, life sciences and biotechnology.
- The selection grew out of a February 2025 agreement between China’s human spaceflight agency and Pakistan’s SUPARCO to train astronauts for joint missions.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the step as a gain for Pakistan’s space research and a sign of close China–Pakistan cooperation.