A send-off ceremony for the Young Astronaut Training Camp 2025 was held at the Hong Kong Science Museum today (July 22). Thirty selected secondary students will set off for Beijing, Jiuquan, and Xi'an from July 25 to August 2 for a nine-day training programme.
Addressing the send-off ceremony, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Cheuk Wing-hing, encouraged the Young Astronauts to seize this precious training opportunity to immerse themselves in the country's remarkable aerospace endeavours, look up to aerospace heroes as their role model, and become a valuable new force in promoting the nation's space development.
Other officiating guests included the First-level Inspector of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Liu Maozhou; the Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Dr Jonathan Choi; the Convenor of the Working Group on Patriotic Education under the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, Legislative Council Member, Starry Lee; the Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vivian Sum; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Manda Chan; the President of the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre, Hsu Hoi-shan; the Vice-Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Ms Jennifer Yeung; and the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Science Museum, Patrick Lau.
Launched in 2009, the Young Astronaut Training Camp has entered its 14th edition, with a total of 400 students participating over the years. The recruitment of this year's training camp started in May and received an overwhelming response. After three rounds of the selection process, which included a quiz on astronomy and space science, a three-day training camp and an interview, 30 students from Secondary Two to Secondary Six were selected as Young Astronauts out of around 120 applicants from more than 80 secondary schools.
The students participating in the nine-day training camp will visit various key astronomy and aerospace facilities, including Beijing Aerospace City and the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This year's programme also marks the first visit to the Wuqing Station of the National Astronomical Observatories, where they will learn about data reception and deep space communication systems of the Tianwen-1 Mars exploration mission. At the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, they will experience the aerospace medicine project and astronaut training activities, including the donning and doffing of spacesuits and savouring space food.
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