Pakistani Astronaut Selected for China's Shenzhou-24 Mission

China's Manned Space Agency has selected a Pakistani astronaut as a payload specialist for its Shenzhou-24 mission, Al Jazeera reported. If the flight goes ahead, the astronaut would be the first foreign national to visit China's space station. A payload specialist is a crew member responsible for scientific experiments and equipment rather than the spacecraft itself.

The astronaut has not been named, and China has not announced a departure date. The mission is expected to take place by the end of the year. Shenzhou is the name of China's crewed spacecraft series, and the astronauts would return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft after a short flight in orbit.

Two Pakistani pilots, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, spent months training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing. The programme that prepares Pakistani astronauts was set up under an agreement between Pakistan and China, and it is run by the Chinese government. Its training includes practical operational exercises and intensive lessons in the Chinese language.

Pakistan's space agency, SUPARCO, reported in April that it had reached a milestone in its human spaceflight programme, involving a Pakistani astronaut serving as a payload expert on a Shenzhou mission. SUPARCO said the milestone was part of that programme. China's Manned Space Agency has also announced the release of an insignia for the Shenzhou-24 crewed flight mission, according to its official website.

Separately, the China National Space Administration will deploy Jinnah-1, a lunar rover for Pakistan. The vehicle weighs 35 kilograms (77 pounds) and is designed to analyse plasma behaviour, radiation and the composition of lunar soil.

China has set a goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030.