Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s space minister, addressed the closing ceremony of World Space Week 2026 in Narowal, Punjab, on Sunday and unveiled the country’s first crewed spaceflight plan.
He said that two pilots, Khurram Daud and Muhammad Zeeshan Ali, are currently training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre in Beijing and that one will be selected to fly aboard a Chinese spacecraft to Tiangong on November 25, 2026.
The selection follows a February 2025 agreement between SUPARCO and China Manned Space Agency that earmarks a Pakistani astronaut to serve as a payload specialist, conducting experiments rather than piloting the vehicle.
Beyond the human flight, the two nations have jointly designed a Pakistani‑built lunar rover slated for China’s Chang'e‑8 mission in 2028, which will autonomously navigate the Moon’s surface using AI‑driven stereo imaging.
Iqbal highlighted how space technology will bolster agriculture, communications, climate monitoring and national security, and he announced the founding of Pakistan’s first space museum at the University of Narowal to inspire the next generation.
Students from the university, including 19‑year‑old engineer Farhan Qureshi, said the museum and the astronaut program have rekindled their dreams of careers in space science, while a farmer from the nearby village noted that satellite data could improve crop yields.