"Tiangong" will welcome its first foreign astronaut

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) According to Chinese official media reports on Saturday (November 7), a Pakistani astronaut will join the crew of China's "Shenzhou 24" manned mission. He is a Pakistani payload specialist.

After the mission is completed, he will become the first foreign citizen to enter the Chinese space station. This will also be the first time in the history of China's manned space program that Chinese and foreign astronauts will jointly carry out a space mission.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office said the Pakistani astronaut will complete a short-term in-orbit flight and then return to Earth aboard the "Shenzhou 23" spacecraft.

Chinese reports have not clarified the specific launch date of "Shenzhou 24", nor have they announced the specific identity of the Pakistani astronaut. However, earlier this year, Chinese state media reported that two Pakistani astronaut candidates, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, had begun training with Chinese astronauts in Beijing. According to the plan, after the two complete various trainings in China and pass the assessment, "one of them will carry out the manned flight mission, and the other will serve as a backup astronaut for the mission."

The report pointed out that the training content not only focuses on cultivating practical operational abilities, but also includes high-intensity Chinese language training.

This mission is one of the contents of the "Cooperation Agreement on Selection and Training of Pakistani Astronauts and Participation in Chinese Space Station Missions" signed by China and Pakistan in February 2025.

Reuters reported that this is part of the bilateral cooperation between China and Brazil under the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. It is also an important manifestation of China's "space diplomacy" and is regarded as China's measure to strengthen international relations through space cooperation.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that China is currently committed to achieving the first manned moon landing before 2030. The United States is regarded as China's main competitor in the aerospace field, and NASA plans to send astronauts to the moon again in 2028.