Hong Kong's first locally born astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, has now spent more than 100 days aboard the Tiangong space station since her launch aboard the Shenzhou‑23 crewed spacecraft in May. The entire city has been eagerly awaiting a "space‑to‑Earth dialogue" with her. That moment came today (Sep. 9) at around 9:50 am, when the "Tiangong Class · Hong Kong and Macao Special Session" – a space lecture jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and the China Manned Space Agency – was held at Lai's alma mater in Tsuen Wan. Lai, together with her Shenzhou‑23 crewmates, explained and demonstrated scientific experiments for students from Hong Kong and Macao, vividly showcasing the wonders of the space environment and space science and technology to young people in the two cities. Chief Executive John Lee and Secretary for Education Christine Choi attended the event.
In his speech, John Lee said that Lai Ka-ying was born and raised in Hong Kong. "Her story tells us that the dream of spaceflight has never been out of reach," he said. "As long as we have the courage to chase our dreams and strive diligently, Hong Kong people, too, can soar into the sky and contribute to our nation's aerospace endeavours."
Mr Lee noted that today Lai would introduce the process of deploying the "Tianyun" camera (MUSICO) outside the module. Developed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the camera is tasked with monitoring global greenhouse gas emissions, supporting both the country's space programme and global scientific and technological development. Beyond this mission, Hong Kong research teams have also provided instruments and technical resources for the nation's lunar and Mars exploration missions, and have conducted in‑orbit construction experiments in space – all of which demonstrate Hong Kong's scientific and technological strength serving the country's aerospace engineering.
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