Two Pakistani pilots are undergoing intensive training in China as Pakistan prepares to send its first astronaut into space aboard China’s Tiangong space station. The historic mission, a product of cooperation between the two nations that began in 2019, marks Pakistan’s initial human spaceflight venture and reflects the growing ties between Islamabad and Beijing in space exploration and satellite technology.
The candidates, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have spent months at the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre in Beijing. Their regimen includes mastering Mandarin Chinese, adapting to the physical challenges of space travel such as microgravity and high g-forces, and learning to operate and repair equipment in orbit. A final decision on which pilot will take the flight is expected by mid to late October.
Both men were selected from an initial pool of around 20 pilots and scientists after undergoing rigorous screening for medical fitness, psychological resilience, and the ability to tolerate extreme g-forces. Suparco, Pakistan’s national space agency, emphasized the importance of their pilots’ high-speed flying experience to withstand the physical stresses of spaceflight.
Once selected, the astronaut will launch directly from China without returning to Pakistan beforehand and will adopt the role of “payload specialist,” focusing on conducting Pakistani scientific experiments aboard the station rather than piloting the spacecraft itself. The mission is anticipated to last about one week, considerably shorter than the standard six-month expeditions conducted by Chinese crew members.
The scientific payload aboard the mission was developed through a competitive process involving Pakistani universities in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Out of more than 300 proposed experiments, Chinese institutions approved four biotechnology projects targeting food security and climate change challenges. Each experiment is built and initially tested at Suparco laboratories before receiving final approval from Chinese engineers.
The Tiangong space station, comprising three modules—Tianhe, Wentian, and Mengtian—weighing approximately 77 metric tonnes in total, has previously hosted over 180 experiments and generated hundreds of research papers and patents. Its experiment racks cover diverse fields including life sciences, materials science, fluid physics, and radiation exposure.
The Pakistani astronaut will travel on a Chinese spacecraft launched from a Chinese site and will communicate in Mandarin during the mission. Pakistan currently lacks its own crewed launch vehicles or spacecraft. The astronaut is scheduled to return alongside two Chinese crew members who arrived at Tiangong in May, while a third Chinese astronaut remains for a yearlong mission to study long-duration human physiology in space.
China is the first country to carry a foreign astronaut to its space station, a milestone reflecting Beijing’s expanding role in international space collaboration. While no commitments have been made for Pakistan to participate in future lunar missions, officials indicated that any such plans would depend on the outcome of this inaugural flight.