Pakistan is preparing to send its first citizen into orbit as the nation narrows down its final candidates for a mission to the Chinese space station.<\/p>\n
According to a report by Dawn, Pakistan\u2019s oldest newspaper, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) has shortlisted two astronauts for the upcoming mission.<\/p>\n
One of these individuals will travel to China\u2019s Tiangong Space Station in October or November 2026.<\/p>\n
This mission represents a significant milestone for international space cooperation. <\/p>\n
It will be the first time an international astronaut resides aboard the Tiangong station. While Pakistan has previously launched satellites with Chinese assistance, this crewed mission signifies a new era in their bilateral space programme.<\/p>\n
WHO WILL BE THE FIRST PAKISTANI IN SPACE?<\/p>\n
The final selection comes after a rigorous process designed to identify individuals capable of handling the physical and mental demands of spaceflight.<\/p>\n
The candidates successfully completed medical, psychological, and aptitude assessments at the Astronauts Centre of China (ACC), as reported by Dawn.<\/p>\n
Although the names remain under wraps for now, the two shortlisted candidates will undergo intensive advanced astronaut training in China for six months.<\/p>\n
This preparation ensures they are ready to conduct experiments and adapt to the microgravity environment of the station.<\/p>\n
WHAT DOES THIS MISSION MEAN FOR GLOBAL SPACE TRAVEL?<\/p>\n
China has been expanding its presence in the lunar and orbital sectors, and inviting international partners to Tiangong is a key part of its strategy. Beijing has selected Islamabad as the first foreign partner in its astronaut programme.<\/p>\n
Tiangong Space Station (Photo: CSME)\n<\/p>\n
For Pakistan, the 2026 flight is a scientific endeavour. By securing a seat on a Chinese rocket, the country aims to join a group of nations with the capability to send humans beyond Earth’s atmosphere.<\/p>\n
HOW WILL THE MISSION WORK AT TIANGONG?<\/p>\n
The selected astronaut will join the mission as a payload specialist. During the mission, they will work alongside the Chinese crew and conduct scientific experiments on behalf of Pakistan while performing standard crew duties.<\/p>\n
As the countdown to late 2026 begins, the world will be watching this development in Asian space exploration.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Radifah Kabir<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Feb 8, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pakistan is preparing to send its first citizen into orbit as the nation narrows down its final candidates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[137719,61,137722,60,137720,137718,137721,137717,82,247,16883],"class_list":["post-286886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-china-space-cooperation","tag-ie","tag-international-astronauts-china","tag-ireland","tag-october-2026-spaceflight","tag-pakistan-astronauts","tag-pakistan-space-agency","tag-pakistan-space-mission","tag-science","tag-space","tag-tiangong-space-station"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}