Pakistani astronauts could become country’s first to fly to space:Khurram Daud, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali training in China for Tiangong mission

For the first time in its history, Pakistan is closer than ever to sending a human into space. At the centre of this milestone is Khurram Daud, a Pakistan Air Force pilot who is currently training in China for a planned mission to the Tiangong space station. Daud is one of two final astronaut candidates. If selected, he will become the first Pakistani to fly to space and spend about a week conducting scientific experiments in orbit. Who is Khurram Daud? Khurram Daud is a serving pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). He was selected in 2026 after several rounds of medical, psychological, and technical assessments for China’s astronaut programme.
He is now undergoing intensive astronaut training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre in Beijing alongside fellow PAF pilot Muhammad Zeeshan Ali. Only one of the two will be chosen for the historic mission. Why is this mission historic?
Although Pakistan has launched satellites and carried out space research through its national space agency ‘SUPARCO,’ no Pakistani citizen has ever travelled to space. The upcoming mission will change that.
The selected pilot will become Pakistan’s first astronaut and the country’s first representative aboard China’s Tiangong space station. What will the astronaut do in space? The chosen candidate will fly as a payload specialist, a crew member responsible for carrying out scientific research rather than piloting the spacecraft. During the mission, the astronaut is expected to conduct experiments in: The stay aboard Tiangong is expected to last around one week. Who is the other astronaut candidate? Khurram Daud is competing with Muhammad Zeeshan Ali, another Pakistan Air Force pilot selected for the same training programme. Both have been training in China since April 2026, and the final decision on who will fly is expected between mid and late October 2026. When will Pakistan’s first spaceflight happen? The final astronaut is expected to be announced in October 2026. After the selection, the chosen pilot will continue mission-specific training before joining a Chinese crew for the planned Tiangong mission later in 2026. If successful, the flight will mark a landmark moment in Pakistan’s space journey and its first human spaceflight mission.