Final Two Pakistani Astronaut Candidates Chosen Ahead of Shenzhou-24 Mission
One of the two men will be in space six months from today, with the launch vehicle to take them to the Tiangong Space Station already at the launch site.
Earlier today, April 22nd, the China Manned Space Agency announced that the selection of two Pakistani astronaut candidates has been finalized ahead of their mission training and launch to the Tiangong Space Station later this year, naming the two spacefarers as Muhammad Zeeshan Ali1 and Khurram Daud2, both former pilots from Pakistan’s armed forces.
Now selected, the two men will head to China in the near future to train as a Payload Expert alongside two taikonauts already chosen to fly alongside them. Their joint training will largely focus on launch, with one crew, and landing, alongside another crew, due to the Pakistani astronaut staying for a short time and not a full six-month crew rotation. As of February, it is expected launch will happen via the Shenzhou-24 mission and a return to Earth will occur via Shenzhou-23.
Few details about the two astronaut candidates are currently available, likely awaiting a more thorough disclosure at a pre-launch meeting with the press. That will also reveal which of the two men was chosen as the primary crew member and the other as the backup.
When one of the two do venture to Tiangong, for at least a week, they will assist the five taikonauts on board with them as well as perform research on Pakistan-originating short-duration experiments going up and returning alongside them. Those experiments are stated to cover material sciences, fluid physics, life sciences, and biotechnology, with possible applications for climate resilience and food security.
An agreement to fly a Pakistani astronaut and research experiments to the orbiting laboratory was agreed upon fourteen months ago, in February 2025.
To enable the brief visit of a Pakistani astronaut, a taikonaut is going to be in space for twelve months continuously for the first time, launching in late May or early June as part of the Shenzhou-23 mission and returning about a year later with Shenzhou-24. Some candidates for the yearlong stay are Liu Yang (刘洋)3, Wang Yaping (王亚平)4, Tang Hongbo (汤洪波)5, Ye Guangfu (叶光富)6, and Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)7, assuming previous mission experience is desired8.
A crew member possibly working alongside the yearlong-staying taikonaut and with the Pakistani astronaut, either heading to or from Tiangong, may be the first taikonaut selected from the Hong Kong (香港) and Macao (澳门) Special Administrative Regions, based on expectations of relevant high-level officials.
Another piece of news relevant to the Pakistani astronaut's visit to Tiangong also announced today was the arrival of the Long March 2F/G launch vehicle, for the Shenzhou-24 mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The launch vehicle arrived three months after another for Shenzhou-23, both being delivered months ahead of their original schedules after Shenzhou-20’s debris strike late last year9.
Name written in Chinese as: 穆罕默德·齐尚·阿里
Name written in Chinese as: 胡拉姆·达乌德
She has been to space for the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-14 missions.
She has been to space for the Shenzhou-10 and Shenzhou-13 missions.
He has been to space for the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-17 missions.
He has been to space for the Shenzhou-13 and Shenzhou-18 missions.
He has been to space for the Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-19 missions.
Keeping in mind the retirement announcement of taikonauts selected in the 1990s.
At present the Shenzhou-21 crew has the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft, which launched without crew, following a space debris strike to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, with the Shenzhou-20 crew taking the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft home.