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Shenzhou 24 is expected to launch in the second half of 2026 and will carry Pakistani astronauts to Tiangong for the first time, marking China’s first joint manned space flight with foreign astronauts.
First after China’s Shenzhou 23hong kong After the flight of the female astronaut, Shenzhou 24 is expected to be launched in the second half of 2026. Chinese officials said that in this human mission 1Pakistan Astronaut China’s “Tiangong” space station will welcome its first foreign astronaut, participating as a payload specialist.
Xinhua News Agency reported on the 7th that according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, a Pakistani astronaut (astronaut) will participate in the Shenzhou 24 manned mission as a payload specialist. After completing a short duration flight in orbit, it will return with the Shenzhou 23 manned spacecraft. This is the first joint flight of Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China’s manned space project, and the China Space Station will welcome its first foreign astronaut.
Payload specialists are one of the categories of astronauts classified by mission. They refer to scientific researchers who conduct scientific and applied research such as experimental work on the space station.
The report reported that in February 2025, China and Pakistan signed a “cooperation agreement on the selection and training of Pakistani astronauts and participation in Chinese space station missions” in Islamabad, officially marking the beginning of the selection of Pakistani astronauts. After three stages of rigorous screening and evaluation including primary selection, secondary selection and final selection, two Pakistani reserve astronauts were selected. After completing various training and passing assessments in China, one of them will carry out manned flight missions and the other will serve as a backup astronaut for the mission.
China regularly implements two semi-annual manned missions every year. Shenzhou 23 took off on May 24 this year. The astronaut crew includes Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying. Among them, Lai Ka-ying is the first astronaut born and raised in Hong Kong. In addition, one of the astronauts will conduct China’s first long-term habitability test of more than a year and is expected to return to Earth aboard Shenzhou 24.
According to Tiangong’s general model of “inducting the new crew first, reuniting and handing over in space, and evacuating the old crew”, two crews in each shift will work and stay together on the space station for about 5 to 7 days. After all handovers and transitions are complete, arrangements will be made for the old crew to return to Earth.
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On top of that, for the first time, foreign astronauts will enter China’s Tiangong space station, and Pakistani astronauts will participate as payload experts, marking the beginning of a new phase of international cooperation in China’s manned space flight.
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He will execute the mission as a payload specialist and will be primarily responsible for scientific and applied research experiments aboard the space station. After completing a short duration flight in orbit, it will return to Earth with Shenzhou 23.
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The two sides signed a cooperation agreement in Islamabad in February 2025 to begin selecting Pakistani astronauts; After three rounds of screening, two reserve astronauts went to China for training, and one eventually completed the mission and the other was a backup.
