A Pakistani astronaut is poised to take part in the coming Shenzhou XXIV spaceflight, becoming the first foreign national to fly onboard China's Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

In a statement released on Saturday morning, the agency said that the Pakistani astronaut will be the payload specialist in the Shenzhou XXIV mission crew and will spend several days in orbit before returning to Earth with the Shenzhou XXIII spaceship.

It did not name which Pakistani astronaut will fly into space.

In February 2025, the Chinese agency and Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission signed an agreement in Islamabad, opening bilateral cooperation to select and train Pakistani astronauts.

Following rigorous screening and evaluation in three phases — preliminary selection, secondary selection, and final selection — two male Pakistani pilots were chosen as astronaut candidates: Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud.

After completing all training sessions in China and passing assessments, one of them will join a manned spaceflight mission, while the other will serve as the backup astronaut, according to the space agency.

By now, the highest altitude any Pakistani has ever reached is about 87.4 km, which was reached by female polar adventurer and artist Namira Salim during a 55-minute suborbital travel arranged by American commercial space company Virgin Galactic on October 6, 2023.

It is commonly recognized that the Karman line, with an altitude of 100 km above sea level, is the start of outer space and the threshold for orbital flight.

Tiangong is one of the largest and most advanced structures ever deployed in Earth's orbit and is the only operating space station independently built by a single nation.

In another development, the agency also published the mission emblem of the Shenzhou XXIV on Saturday.