{"id":11587,"date":"2026-04-22T19:13:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wnp.com.pk\/?p=11587"},"modified":"2026-04-28T13:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:45:56","slug":"pakistan-names-astronaut-candidates-for-first-human-spaceflight-mission-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/pakistan-names-astronaut-candidates-for-first-human-spaceflight-mission-with-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan names astronaut candidates for first human spaceflight mission with China"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD: Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) has announced a major milestone in the country\u2019s space program, naming two astronaut candidates for advanced training ahead of Pakistan\u2019s first-ever human spaceflight mission.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Khurram Daud and Muhammad Zeeshan Ali have been selected to travel to the China to undergo specialized training at the Astronaut Centre of China.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The development marks a significant step in Pakistan\u2019s entry into human spaceflight, positioning it among a select group of nations participating in manned space missions.<\/p>\n<p>Under the bilateral collaboration, Pakistan is preparing for its first participation in a mission to the China Space Station (CSS), with a Pakistani astronaut expected to serve as a payload expert.<\/p>\n<p>The mission, tentatively scheduled for launch in late 2026, is expected to take place aboard a Chinese spaceflight mission, reflecting deepening cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing in advanced scientific and technological domains.<\/p>\n<p>Officials say the initiative will not only enhance Pakistan\u2019s capabilities in space science but also contribute to research, innovation, and international collaboration in the field of space exploration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD: Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) has announced a major milestone in the country\u2019s space program, naming two astronaut candidates for advanced training ahead of Pakistan\u2019s first-ever human spaceflight mission. Khurram Daud and Muhammad Zeeshan Ali have been selected to travel to the China to undergo specialized training at the Astronaut Centre of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","category-china","category-tech","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85795,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11587\/revisions\/85795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}