Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said in Hong Kong on the 28th that he hoped to see astronauts from Hong Kong and Macao stationed on the motherland's space station as soon as possible, and that the payloads designed by Hong Kong and Macao's scientific and educational circles would carry out experiments on the motherland's space station.
At noon on 11 November, the manned space engineering delegation arrived in Hong Kong to begin a six-day visit to Hong Kong and Macao. In the afternoon, Lin Xiqiang said at the meeting that in previous flight missions, Hong Kong and Macao have participated in the construction of the motherland's manned space industry for many times; Facing the current mission, all walks of life in Hong Kong and Macao have also actively participated in the selection of the fourth batch of reserve astronaut payload experts, the collection of space station science and application projects, the selection of experimental payloads carried by the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, and the development of manned lunar rover. "We clearly feel that the participation of the Hong Kong and Macao SARs is becoming wider and deeper." He said.
The selection of China's fourth batch of reserve astronauts was launched last year, and for the first time, payload experts were selected in Hong Kong and Macao. Lin Xiqiang said that there are candidates from Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions who have entered the final stage of the selection of load experts, and the selection work is planned to be completed by the end of the year.
Lin Xiqiang also said that China's space station will be open to the world, and all countries and regions committed to the peaceful use of outer space are welcome to cooperate with China and participate in China's space station missions. At present, the relevant work is in the preparatory stage, and China is communicating and negotiating with many countries and regions in the world, and has not yet finalized the order of foreign astronauts.
At the meeting, the panoramic photos of the space station assembly taken by the Shenzhou-16 crew with a high-definition camera in hand and orbiting the spacecraft before returning to the ground were released for the first time. This is the first time that China has obtained a full picture of the space station assembly with the earth as the background in orbit, and it is also the first set of full-configuration working photos of China's space station.
After the meeting, the delegation attended a welcome dinner hosted by the HKSAR Government and met with people from all walks of life in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said in his speech at the dinner that China's manned space program has made one breakthrough after another over the past 30 years, showing the world how to move towards the space dream at "Chinese speed". "The achievements you have made make us, as sons and daughters of China, feel extremely proud and proud."
Mr Lee said he believed that the delegation's visit to Hong Kong would bring about a boom in Hong Kong's aerospace industry, enhance the public's identification with the country, and promote the mainstream values of patriotism and love for Hong Kong and the principle of "one country, two systems."
At the invitation of the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, a delegation of manned space engineering will visit Hong Kong and Macao from November 11 to December 28. The delegation was led by Lin Xiqiang, including astronaut Liu Boming of the Shenzhou-12 crew, Wang Yaping, astronaut of the Shenzhou-3 crew, Chen Dong, commander of the Shenzhou-17 crew, Zhang Lu, astronaut of the Shenzhou-2012 crew, and experts in the field of manned spaceflight engineering systems. This is the first visit to Hong Kong and Macao organized by the manned space program after 11 years since the delegation of the Shenzhou-<> manned rendezvous and docking mission visited Hong Kong and Macao in <>, and it is also the first time that the project has entered the space station era to exchange and interact with Hong Kong and Macao. (CCTV News Client)