Pakistan joins China’s Tiangong mission & NASA advances lunar base plans - Space News (Nov 8, 2026)

Support The Automated Daily directly: 15 free episodes a day, 5 editions, 3 languages, about $4 a day to produce. A coffee keeps it going: theautomateddaily.com/support Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Consensus: AI for Research. Get a free month - https://get.consensus.app/automated_daily - Effortless AI design for presentations, websites, and more with Gamma - https://try.gamma.app/tad - KrispCall: Agentic Cloud Telephony - https://try.krispcall.com/tad Today's topics: Pakistan joins China’s Tiangong mission - A Pakistani payload specialist will fly aboard China’s Shenzhou-24 mission, becoming the first foreign national to visit the Tiangong space station. The historic flight signals a new international phase for China’s human-spaceflight program. [55] NASA advances lunar base plans - NASA has selected eight companies to compete for future lunar deliveries under a ten-year contract framework supporting science, infrastructure and sustained operations near the Moon’s south pole. [286] Mars rover technology goes lunar - NASA is moving forward with PROMISE, a nuclear-powered lunar rover assembled partly from Curiosity and Perseverance hardware. The rover will scout the lunar south pole for resources and future landing sites. [301][305] NASA recruits its next astronauts - NASA has opened applications for its twenty-fifth astronaut class, with candidates expected to be chosen in late 2027. Future astronauts could support lunar exploration and preparations for eventual human missions to Mars. [241][243] Starship targets a double catch - SpaceX is targeting November 13 for Starship’s next test flight, pending regulatory approval. The mission would attempt to return and catch both the booster and upper-stage spacecraft at the launch site. [256][257] Episode Transcript Pakistan joins China’s Tiangong mission We begin with human spaceflight and a significant first for China’s orbital program. A Pakistani astronaut is set to join the Shenzhou-24 crew as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign national to visit China’s Tiangong space station. The astronaut has not yet been publicly identified, but two Pakistani candidates—Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud—have been training in China. One is expected to fly, while the other serves as backup. The selected astronaut will complete a short stay aboard Tiangong before returning with the preceding Shenzhou crew. [48][55] This is more than a symbolic passenger arrangement. China has operated Tiangong largely as a national station, so welcoming a foreign crew member represents a notable shift toward international participation. It also gives Pakistan a path to its first human spaceflight and strengthens a wider space partnership between the two countries. NASA advances lunar base plans Turning to the Moon, NASA has announced a broad package of contracts intended to support sustained operations near the lunar south pole. Eight companies are now eligible to compete for future robotic delivery missions under the next phase of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program. The framework runs for ten years and has a combined ceiling of ten billion dollars, although that figure represents the maximum potential value rather