China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) Selects Pakistani Astronauts for Tiangong Space Station

Key facts

• The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) selected Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud as the first foreign reserve astronauts for space mission training.
• One of the selected candidates will participate in a space mission as a payload specialist on board the Tiangong space station.
• The Tiangong space station currently orbits approximately 400 km above the Earth and has been in orbit for nearly five years.
• The agreement for the mission was signed between the CMSA and Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in February last year.
• The Tiangong space station was developed by China after its reported exclusion from the International Space Station (ISS).