“Tiangong Class” Hong Kong and Macao Designated Session held successfully as HK and Macao young people experience remarkable achievements of the country’s manned space development

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government, the Macao SAR Government, and the China Manned Space Agency successfully organised the “Tiangong Class” Hong Kong and Macao Designated Session today (September 9), enabling young people from Hong Kong and Macao to engage in interactive dialogues with space experts and the Shenzhou-23 crew currently carrying out a manned space mission on the Chinese Space Station. Mission commander, Dr Zhu Yangzhu, astronaut Zhang Zhiyuan and Hong Kong’s first payload expert Dr Lai Ka-ying, served as “space teachers” to deliver expert lectures to students, conduct real-time science experiments, and engage in interactive “dialogue between space and Earth”.

     Held at Dr Lai’s alma mater, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College, “Tiangong Class” Hong Kong and Macao Designated Session featured in-orbit demonstrations, expert lectures and a question-and-answer session with students. Over 200 participants attended, including primary and secondary school teachers and pupils from Hong Kong and Macao, tertiary students, researchers and technology professionals, as well as representatives from youth organisations. The session lasted approximately one hour and thirty minutes, during which Dr Lai introduced the operational process of the Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory (MUSICO). Developed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the MUSICO undertakes the important task of monitoring global greenhouse gases, contributing to national aerospace programmes and global sustainable development.