ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani astronaut will embark on a space mission from China’s space center on Nov. 25, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Sunday, adding that the country aims to achieve a lunar landing by 2035.

China’s state-run Xinhua News, in April, announced the selection of two Pakistani nationals as the first foreign astronauts for an upcoming space mission training by China.

Pakistani military’s media wing said in February that Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud had successfully completed advanced medical, psychological and aptitude assessments in China for a human spaceflight mission. Xinhua said one of the two Pakistani astronauts would participate as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign astronaut onboard the Tiangong space station.

“Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said that Pakistan’s first astronaut will embark on a space mission from China’s space center on November 25, while the country aims to achieve a lunar landing by 2035,” the planning ministry said in a statement.

“He said cooperation with China would help Pakistan reach new heights in space exploration,” it added.

The minister made these comments as he attended a concluding ceremony of the World Space Week held in his hometown, Narowal. The event was held in collaboration with the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).

The recent partnership between Beijing and Islamabad spotlights Pakistan’s and China’s growing collaboration in space. The two countries signed the Astronaut Cooperation Agreement in February 2025, which was aimed at enabling Pakistan’s participation in space-based activities.

The move signaled Pakistan’s broader push to enter human spaceflight through cooperation with China, as Beijing expands international participation in its Tiangong space station amid growing competition in space exploration.

Pakistan and China have also worked together in the past on satellite launches and lunar exploration projects.

This will not be the first time that a Pakistani astronaut will be heading into space, with Namira Salim becoming the first Pakistani woman astronaut to achieve the feat in October 2023. Salim traveled aboard Virgin Galactic’s fifth successful flight, according to the US company. She was among the first customers to buy a ticket with billionaire Richard Branson’s space company after it was founded almost two decades ago.

Salim, however, said she had invested her own resources in her spaceflight ticket, which cost her $200,000 in 2006. For her space mission, she said she had traveled to the US and Europe from 2006 to 2023, and attended all milestone events in the process during which they built a fleet of motherships and spaceships.