The First Foreign Astronaut Will Visit China's Tiangong Space Station in Two Weeks

On November 25th, 2026, China's Shenzhou 24 mission will launch for the Tiangong space station atop a Long March 2F rocket. It will be the country's 18th crewed spaceflight and will see three taikonauts rendezvous with the Tianhe core module. Similar to previous Chinese crewed missions, the names of the crew are not expected to be announced until the day before the flight - except for one. On this particular flight, a Pakistani astronaut will accompany the pilot and commander, becoming the first foreigner to travel to Tiangong. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) nominated Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud from Pakistan's space agency, SUPARCO (The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission). One of these astronauts will accompany the two Chinese taikonauts as a payload specialist, marking the first joint spaceflight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's space program. After spending a week aboard the station, the Ali or Daud will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. The process officially began in February 2025, when China and Pakistan signed an agreement in which Pakistani astronauts would be trained and selected to participate in missions to Tiangong. The two candidates were chosen after a rigorous selection process consisting of preliminary screenings, secondary evaluations, and final selection, which concluded in April 2026. Once Ali and Daud complete training in China, one will be selected for the mission while the other will serve as the backup astronaut. This agreement represents an historic expansion of China's ambition in space and a major shift in the strategic partnership between the two nations. Previously, the two cooperated on the development of terrestrial infrastructure, and are now focused on collaborative deep-space exploration. For Pakistan, this represents an opportunity to send its first astronaut to space, edging out India by close to a year. Per India's Gaganyaan program, India's first crewed mission is expected to launch no sooner than Q2 2027. For China, this is an important step toward the kind of international cooperation typical of NASA and the European Space Agency. It also aligns with their lunar ambitions, which will culminate in the creation of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). China's growth as a major space power continues and is now taking on partners! Further Reading: CGTN