ISLAMABAD: Two candidates have been shortlisted for Pakistan’s Human Spaceflight Programme by the Astronauts Centre of China (ACC), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.

In February 2025, Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Com­mission (Suparco) and China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) signed a cooperation agreement.Under the pact, two Pakistanis would train in China, with one joining a mission on the Tiangong space station operated by Beijing.

Candidates will be trained for six months before one of them is finalised for space mission this year

In a press release, the ISPR said Suparco had “achieved yet another significant milestone in Pakistan’s Human Spaceflight Programme with the successful completion of the secondary pha­se of astronaut candidates’ selection”.

“Following an initial screening process in Pakistan, the candidates were shortlisted after undergoing comprehensive medical, psychological, and aptitude assessments conducted at the Astronauts Centre of China (ACC), in accordance with international human spaceflight standards,” the statement read.

As per the bilateral agreement, the two shortlisted candidates will undertake “advanced astronaut training” for six months at ACC.

Upon completion of the training, one candidate will be selected for a spaceflight mission aboard the Tiangong space station in October / November 2026, the press release added.

The ISPR noted the cooperation was anchored on the bilateral “Astronaut Cooperation Agreement” signed in February 2025 “under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, “whose vision and support were instrumental in enabling Pakistan’s participation in human spaceflight”.

China has been barred from particip­ating in the International Space Station since 2011, when the US prohibited Nasa from collaborating with Chinese space agencies. Since then, it has sought to build partnerships with other countries.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2026