Pakistani pilots vie for first foreign Tiangong crew

Pakistan expects a final choice in mid-to-late October 2026 between pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud for a seat as the first foreign astronaut on China's Tiangong space station. The pair have spent months at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing studying Mandarin, learning spacecraft systems, and adapting through centrifuge drills and microgravity training. SUPARCO's Amer Gilani and Uzair Ansari provided the agency's first interview to foreign media since the pilots were selected and deployed to China. The winner will fly as a payload specialist for about a week, running four biotechnology experiments selected from more than 300 proposals. The two beat roughly 20 finalists. Ansari said, "You cannot easily find scientists who are familiar with travelling and facing high-level g-forces." The 2019-conceived mission uses Chinese spacecraft, sites and instructors; Pakistan has no independent launch vehicle or crewed spacecraft. Gilani said "there is no official commitment or discussion on this matter" regarding any moon flight, with next steps depending on "our maiden mission." A Pakistani-built lunar rover is due on Chang'e 8 around 2028. Which pilot flies remains undecided.