BEIJING, Nov. 7 — A Pakistani astronaut will join the Shenzhou-24 crewed flight mission as a payload specialist, the China Manned Space Agency said on Saturday.
After completing a short on-orbit flight, the Pakistani astronaut will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.
With China’s space station going to receive the first foreign visitor, the mission will mark the first joint flight involving Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of the country’s manned space program.
In February 2025, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement on astronaut selection, training and participation in Chinese space station flight missions in Islamabad, officially launching astronaut selection from Pakistan.
After a rigorous three-stage selection and assessment process, two Pakistani reserve astronauts were selected. After completing all training and passing the evaluation in China, one will carry out the crewed flight mission while the other will serve as a backup. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
