Hong Kong's first astronaut Lai Ka-ying to deliver live space lesson to students

Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, will deliver a live lesson from space to students and teachers at her alma mater on Wednesday morning, with the 90-minute event broadcast to campuses across the city and streamed live on television.

Lai and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members – mission commander Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan – will take part in the “Tiangong Class” at Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College.

Representatives from the youth sector and innovation and technology community, as well as a visiting delegation from Macau, will also attend. The session will also be broadcast to students in Macau.

Jointly organised by the Hong Kong and Macau governments and the China Manned Space Agency, the event will feature an expert lecture, in-orbit demonstrations and a question and answer session designed to showcase the space environment.

Speaking at the college, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would begin an astronomy-themed popular science education and promotion, urging the public to actively participate in the activities.

“I also hope that the younger generation will take astronauts as their role models, strive to equip themselves, have the courage to pursue their dreams, and use their wisdom and hard work to contribute towards building the nation into a strong nation in space and opening a brilliant new chapter for the Chinese nation,” he said.

Lee added that the China manned space delegation’s visit to Hong Kong in 2023 had sown seeds of national pride, space exploration and pursuing dreams, while Lai’s space exploration mission had demonstrated the growth of such seeds.

Before the live dialogue begins, Professor Wu Bo from Polytechnic University, Professor Su Hui from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Professor Yao Zhonghua from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) share spatial knowledge and their projects with students at Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College.