Pakistan's first astronaut is due to fly to China's Tiangong station on 25 November
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal gave the date at the close of World Space Week in Narowal. Two Pakistani candidates have trained in Beijing, and China has not yet said which one will fly.
Pakistan's first astronaut will launch from China on 25 November for about a week aboard the Tiangong space station, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on 18 October. He gave the date at the closing ceremony of World Space Week, which was held in Narowal for the first time and organised with the national space agency, SUPARCO.
The flight would make Pakistan the first foreign country to put an astronaut on the Chinese station, and would put the first Pakistani in orbit. Iqbal said the astronaut will leave from China's space centre. Officials expect the flyer to travel on a Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft before the end of 2026, and SUPARCO is preparing the experiments that will go with the astronaut.
“With China's cooperation, Pakistan will reach new heights in the field of space research.”
Two candidates, one seat
Two Pakistani candidates, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were shortlisted from about 20 finalists, drawn from an initial pool of Pakistani pilots and scientists, and trained at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing. The course covers Mandarin, spacecraft systems and the physical demands of launch and microgravity. Both went to China in April 2026 for advanced training. Amer Gilani, who oversees human spaceflight cooperation at SUPARCO, had said a final selection would come in October, but China has not publicly confirmed which of the two will fly.
The seat comes from a cooperation agreement between SUPARCO and the China Manned Space Engineering Office, signed in February 2025. Under it, China selects and trains two Pakistani candidates, and one flies as a payload specialist on a Chinese mission to Tiangong. A preliminary selection round in Pakistan came first, followed by tougher evaluations in China.
Experiments in orbit
As a payload specialist, the astronaut will run experiments developed in Pakistan rather than operate the spacecraft. SUPARCO says the work will cover microgravity research in material science, biotechnology and life sciences, and officials expect the findings to bear on climate change and food security.
A Moon landing by 2035
Iqbal said Pakistan aims to land on the Moon by 2035, and announced Pakistan's first space museum, to be built at the University of Narowal to draw young people into space science.
“If we do not conduct research, we will fall behind in the race for development.”
A Pakistani built lunar rover is already expected to fly on China's Chang'e 8 mission, planned for around 2028.
