Two Pakistani candidates have been selected as the first foreign astronauts for China’s space mission training, the China Manned Space Agency announced on April 22, calling it a landmark achievement in international cooperation on the Chinese space station.
The statement added that Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud will come to China soon as reserve astronauts for training. After completing all training and evaluations, one of them will participate in a space mission as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign astronaut onboard the Tiangong space station. This selection and training of astronauts for Pakistan, it noted, is also a milestone in China’s space program and another successful example of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership in the space sector, adding that the peaceful use of outer space for the benefit of all humanity has always been the original aspiration and mission of China’s space program development.
The following day, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met the astronauts and described their participation in space research as a landmark achievement for the country and a matter of national pride. The successful candidate will conduct several scientific experiments in microgravity, which span areas including material science, fluid physics, life and bio science, and biotechnology.
“I am confident that you are going to write a new chapter in Pakistan’s history,” the prime minister told the astronauts, appreciating their dedication and hard work that enabled them to reach this important stage.
The astronauts expressed gratitude for the opportunity and termed their participation in space research a “unique honour and a source of pride for Pakistan”. They reaffirmed their resolve to meet the nation’s expectations through dedication and hard work.
On April 24, the Xinhua News Agency reported that the two astronauts had arrived in China and been admitted to the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing.
The next day, Xinhua further reported that China had launched a Pakistani satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China’s Shanxi Province. The satellite, named PRSC-EO3, was lifted off at 8:15 p.m. by a Long March-6 carrier rocket and successfully entered its planned orbit. This launch marked the 640th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
On the evening of April 25, our co-editor Keith Bennett was an invited speaker at the annual dinner of Third World Solidarity, in which many prominent members of Britain’s Pakistani community participated. In the course of his speech, Keith said:
“And there is something else to take pride in this week. Thanks to Pakistan’s friendship with China, on Wednesday it was announced that two Pakistani candidates have been selected for training as the first foreign astronauts to participate in China’s space program. Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud arrived in China today and later this year one of them will be chosen to participate in a space mission as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign astronaut onboard the Tiangong space station.
“It is often said that China-Pakistan friendship is higher than the Himalayas. Well, now it is literally true. And just as the smiling face and engaging personality of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, won hearts around the world, I’m sure that Pakistan’s astronauts, or taikonauts as they are termed in China, will win hearts not just in Pakistan, but throughout the Ummah [the global Muslim community] and indeed beyond.”
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency and by the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune.
Two Pakistani astronauts selected for China’s space mission training
BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) — Two Pakistani candidates have been selected as the first foreign astronauts for China’s space mission training, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Wednesday afternoon, calling it a landmark achievement in international cooperation on the Chinese space station.
The agency said in a statement that Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud will come to China soon as reserve astronauts for training. After completing all training and evaluations, one of them will participate in a space mission as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign astronaut onboard the Tiangong space station.
In February 2025, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement on the spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut to the Chinese space station in Islamabad, officially launching the selection process for Pakistani astronauts. After three rounds of rigorous screening, two Pakistani reserve astronauts were ultimately chosen.
According to the agency, this selection and training of astronauts for Pakistan is also a milestone in China’s space program and another successful example of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership in the space sector.
It fully demonstrates China’s open attitude and willingness to share its space development achievements with the international community, the agency said.
The peaceful use of outer space for the benefit of all humanity has always been the original aspiration and mission of China’s space program development, the agency said.
China’s manned space program will always open its doors wide, welcoming countries around the world to participate in cooperation in areas such as scientific experiments, technological tests, and astronaut selection and training aboard the Chinese space station, jointly expanding the understanding of the universe, and contributing wisdom and strength to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, the agency added.
PM Shehbaz meets astronauts selected for human space mission, calls it historic milestone
April 23 (Express Tribune) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met Pakistani astronauts Khurram Daud and Muhammad Zeeshan Ali, selected for a human space mission by China, and described their participation in space research as a landmark achievement for the country and a matter of national pride.
China selected the two Pakistani astronauts as candidates for its manned space programme. Both will travel to China for training, and one will participate in a flight mission as a payload specialist and become the first foreign astronaut in China’s space station.
Upon completing all training courses and passing relevant assessments, one of them will be selected for a mission crew as a payload specialist to participate in a spaceflight, becoming the first foreign astronaut to visit the Chinese space station. The Pakistani astronaut will conduct several scientific experiments in microgravity, which span areas including material science, fluid physics, life and bio science, and biotechnology.
The two met the premier today in a meeting at the PM House, during which he expressed “deep pleasure” over meeting the young astronauts and termed their selection for space research a “significant milestone” for Pakistan.
“I am confident that you are going to write a new chapter in Pakistan’s history,” the prime minister told the astronauts, appreciating their dedication and hard work that enabled them to reach this important stage.
The prime minister, amid highlighting Pakistan-China cooperation in the space sector, said the astronauts’ mission through Chinese collaboration would further strengthen the longstanding ties between the two countries, adding that bilateral cooperation in space research reflected a “shared commitment to exploring new frontiers and reaching greater scientific heights together”.
Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong, present in the meeting, welcomed the prime minister’s remarks and described expanding cooperation between Pakistan and China in space research as encouraging and forward-looking.
The astronauts expressed gratitude for the opportunity and termed their participation in space research a “unique honour and a source of pride for Pakistan”. They reaffirmed their resolve to meet the nation’s expectations through dedication and hard work.
Astronaut Attaché Hasnain Iftikhar from Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) was also present during the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to the PM Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, and SUPARCO Chairman Muhammad Yousaf Khan.
This is not the first time Pakistan and China have collaborated on space projects. Last year in October, SUPARCO successfully launched the country’s first-ever Hyperspectral Satellite (HS-1) from China.
The HS-1 satellite was engineered to capture ultra-precise hyperspectral imagery across hundreds of narrow spectral bands, offering unprecedented resolution for the analysis of land, vegetation, water, and urban features. Through its advanced imaging capability, HS-1 empowered the nation to precisely map crop vitality, soil moisture, and water quality, while rigorously tracking deforestation, pollution, and glacial melt.
In July 2025, Pakistan successfully launched its latest remote sensing satellite from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. The launch was carried out by SUPARCO, Pakistan’s national space agency, in collaboration with the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and MICROSAT China.
