# Pakistani astronaut to join China's Shenzhou-24 mission as payload specialist

- Published: 2026-11-07 09:08 UTC
- Section: Sky & Space › Space
- Tags: Shenzhou-24 mission, Chinese space station, Pakistani astronaut, payload specialist, China Manned Space Agency, Shenzhou-23
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-84f6a27b8f70e3f7ccdc1a71_pakistani_astronaut_to/

**A Pakistani specialist will become the first foreign astronaut on the Chinese space station under an orbital flight plan.**

![Pakistani astronaut to join China's Shenzhou-24 mission as payload specialist](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/c6cf18540da4e9a6.webp)
*ua.news*

A Pakistani astronaut will join China's Shenzhou-24 mission to the Tiangong space station as a payload specialist, according to a report by ua.news citing CCTV and the China Manned Space Agency [1]. This will mark the first joint orbital flight in the history of China's manned space program involving foreign personnel [1].

The visiting specialist is scheduled to perform a short-term mission on the Chinese orbital complex before returning to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft [1]. The mission represents the first time a foreign national will enter the Chinese space station [1].

Official launch dates and the final selection for the Shenzhou-24 crew have not been announced by Beijing [1]. Earlier, representatives of Pakistan's space agency stated that pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Dawood had undergone training for several months at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing [1]. The initiative is organized as part of bilateral scientific and technical cooperation between China and Pakistan [1].

## Sources

1. [ua.news](https://ua.news/en/dovkolo-svitu/pakistanskii-astronavt-priiednaietsia-do-misiyi-kitaiu-shenzhou-24-the-express-tribune)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-84f6a27b8f70e3f7ccdc1a71_pakistani_astronaut_to/