A Pakistani astronaut will join China’s space station on this year’s Shenzhou-24 mission, becoming the first foreign visitor to the orbiting outpost, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The astronaut will take part in the mission as a payload specialist under bilateral cooperation within China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and will return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft after a short stay in orbit.
The mission will be the first joint spaceflight featuring both Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China’s crewed space programme.
China has not named the astronaut or announced a date for the mission. A Pakistani space agency official said in September that pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud had spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing.