Pakistan is close to choosing the first Pakistani astronaut to fly aboard China’s Tiangong space station.

Two air force pilots, Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, have been training for months at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing. A final decision on who flies is expected in mid-to-late October, Amer Gilani of Pakistan’s space agency SUPARCO told Reuters.

The mission was conceived by the two countries in 2019. The chosen pilot is learning Mandarin, training in centrifuges and practising living and working in weightlessness. The two men beat about 20 finalists drawn from an initial pool of pilots and scientists.

Whoever is picked will launch directly from China and return home after a recovery period on Earth. The flight would be a first for Pakistan and the first foreign astronaut aboard Tiangong.

The space partnership also covers Pakistani satellites, a joint satellite-navigation system and a Pakistani rover due to fly on China’s Chang’e 8 lunar mission around 2028. Why it matters: it shows how China’s space programme is drawing partner nations into closer orbit.