Shenzhou 24 is China's next crewed flight to Tiangong, its space station. It will carry the station's first foreign visitor: an astronaut from Pakistan, flying as a payload specialist, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on 7 November 2026.
China has not announced a launch date or time. As of 12 November 2026, CMSA had not given one. China Daily reported that the mission is expected in the coming weeks. We will add the time, in Beijing Time, once CMSA confirms it.
What are Shenzhou and Tiangong?
- Shenzhou: China's crew spacecraft. The name means "Divine Vessel". It launches on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
- Tiangong: China's space station in low Earth orbit. The name means "Heavenly Palace". Its core module is called Tianhe, and Shenzhou 23 docked there in May 2026.
- CMSA: the government agency that runs China's human spaceflight program.
Each Shenzhou mission brings a new crew to Tiangong. The new crew overlaps with the crew already there, then the older crew flies home. Read our guide to China's rockets and spacecraft for the full fleet.
Who is the first foreign astronaut on Tiangong?
CMSA says one Pakistani astronaut will fly on Shenzhou 24 as a payload specialist. It calls this the first joint flight of Chinese and foreign astronauts in the history of China's crewed space program.
Here is how the selection worked, according to CMSA:
- Agreement: China and Pakistan signed a deal in Islamabad in February 2025 to select and train Pakistani astronauts for flights to Tiangong.
- Selection: candidates went through three rounds: first, second and final selection.
- Training: two Pakistani candidates trained in China. One will fly and the other is the backup.
China Daily, citing CMSA, names the two candidates as Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, both pilots. CMSA has not said which of them will fly.
At a briefing in May 2026, CMSA said the two Pakistani candidates had joined the China Astronaut Research and Training Center on China's Space Day that year, to train alongside Chinese astronauts. Their training covers basic and spaceflight skills, with a focus on hands-on operations, plus Chinese language lessons.
How long will the Pakistani astronaut stay?
Not long. CMSA describes it as a short flight. The Pakistani astronaut will come home aboard Shenzhou 23, the spacecraft already docked at the station, rather than on Shenzhou 24. CMSA has not said how many days the stay will last.
China's foreign ministry welcomed the news. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said it is "yet another key outcome of bilateral cooperation" as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic ties.
Who is on Tiangong now?
The Shenzhou 23 crew. Their mission launched at 23:08 Beijing Time on 24 May 2026 from Jiuquan, CMSA says. The crew are:
- Zhu Yangzhu: commander and flight engineer, on his second flight after Shenzhou 16.
- Zhang Zhiyuan: spacecraft pilot, on his first flight. He was an air force pilot before joining.
- Li Jiaying (Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese): payload specialist, on her first flight. She worked for the Hong Kong police before joining.
CMSA says one Shenzhou 23 astronaut will stay in orbit for a full year, China's first one-year stay. It said the choice of who stays would depend on how the mission goes in orbit. The other two plan a stay of about six months, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which builds the rocket and spacecraft.
As of 12 November 2026, CMSA had not named the Chinese crew members for Shenzhou 24.
Why does Shenzhou 24 matter?
Until now, only Chinese astronauts have lived on Tiangong. A foreign visitor shows the station opening up to other countries. CMSA had already said in late October that Tiangong would soon welcome its first international astronaut, as we covered in our China crewed Moon landing plan explainer.
Follow China's launches on our 2026 China launch list and the full launch schedule.
