China set for its first one-year human spaceflight mission, confirms Pakistani astronaut flight

HELSINKI — China will begin its first one-year duration astronaut mission this year, while the first international astronaut will make a short visit to Tiangong space station.

The country completed the three-module Tiangong space station in late 2022, with the orbital outpost hosting crews of three for six months at a time ever since. While NASA and Roscosmos have already conducted a number of year-long missions aboard the International Space Station, China is now set to select one astronaut to remain aboard Tiangong for a full year for the first time.

“One astronaut from the Shenzhou-23 crew will undertake a one-year in-orbit residency experiment,” the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), China’s human spaceflight agency, said in a statement Feb. 27. 

Shenzhou-23 is expected to launch in April or May this year. The spacecraft for the mission was delivered to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in January, around two months ahead of schedule, due to a cascade of events triggered by the discovery in early of November 2025 of a cracked Shenzhou-20 viewport window due to a suspected debris impact.

The mission will provide China with valuable data on human health and performance in microgravity over durations, which will have relevance for future deep space missions. It also suggests established confidence in Tiangong’s support systems, such as radiation mitigation, medical monitoring and psychological support frameworks, allowing such a mission.

CMSEO also stated that a Pakistani astronaut will embark on a Shenzhou flight as a payload specialist for a short-duration mission. Though not explicitly stated, this strongly suggests that the astronaut will fly aboard Shenzhou-24 in late 2026 and return to Earth on the outgoing Shenzhou-23 mission, with one Shenzhou-23 astronaut remaining aboard Tiangong to complete a one-year continuous stay in orbit. The move follows an agreement signed between China and Pakistan in February 2025.

Tiangong hosts six astronauts for around five days during crew handovers. The Pakistani astronaut will thus have a handful of days to conduct experiments and possible outreach and other activities while in orbit. 

The selection process for the Pakistani astronaut mission is progressing smoothly, according to CMSEO. The agency also stated that payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau—selected in a fourth astronaut selection round in June 2024—could fly as soon as 2026.

Together, the one-year mission and international astronaut plans indicate a shift in China’s operational practices and reinforce earlier statements on long-duration missions and international cooperation through Tiangong.

CMSEO also reiterated its aim of landing Chinese astronauts on the moon before 2030 in its Feb. 27 statement, noting that development and construction of various aspects of the hardware for the lunar landing is “progressing steadily,” with ground infrastructure also a priority for this year.

“In 2026, efforts will focus on advancing the construction of supporting facilities and equipment for lunar missions at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, as well as ground support systems including tracking, telemetry, command, communications, and landing sites,” the statement read.

Earlier this month, CMSEO and CASC conducted an in-flight abort test for the Mengzhou spacecraft for the lunar mission, while also testing the first stage of the Long March 10 series rocket, marking major milestones for the crewed lunar program. Earlier indications suggest China is planning first orbital flight for Mengzhou and the Long March 10A in 2026. This was not, however, noted in the Feb. 27 statement.