HK's star on the rise with key space mission roles

For the past three years, I have chronicled a quiet but profound revolution. We in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's space science academic community have progressed from enthusiastic observers of China's monumental space achievements to active, trusted participants in its most ambitious space endeavors.

This journey began years ago at Hong Kong Polytechnic University on the drawing boards of its engineering labs, and in the stark, airless vistas of the moon and the ruddy plains of Mars. This is a testament to the power of the "one country, two systems" principle to foster scientific excellence.

The China Space Day announcements in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Friday did not merely continue this story, but catapulted it into a thrilling new epoch, confirming the role of Hong Kong's elite universities in humanity's next great leaps into lunar and Martian explorations. It is as inspiring as it is significant.

I was fortunate to be invited to the China Space Day events to give two keynote speeches, and I witnessed the announcements of Hong Kong's involvement in three out of five international Tianwen 3 Mars science payloads, with another involving the Macao Special Administrative Region.

For my university, the University of Hong Kong, the foundational moment — the seed from which some of this new chapter has grown — is the hard-won involvement of its Laboratory for Space Research in the Chang'e 7 lunar mission. The ILO-C camera — a small, wide-field telescope camera resulting from a partnership between the Hawaii-based International Lunar Observatory Association and HKU's space research lab — represents far more than a piece of precision optics. It is a physical symbol of capability, trust and convergence.

When the instrument descends to the lunar south pole aboard Chang'e 7 in late November, it will be taking color images of the galactic plane above the rim of the Shackleton Crater.

The ILO-C camera also continues to demonstrate that Hong Kong's universities can deliver world-class, flight-ready space mission hardware that meets the exacting standards of the China National Space Administration. With the amazing past success of Hong Kong Polytechnic University's camera and robot arms for earlier Chang'e lunar missions and the Tianwen 1 Mars mission, and the participation of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in a Chang'e 8 robotic rover, this latest success for HKU has brought a flood of opportunities.

The China Space Day announcements were a resounding endorsement of this model. They showed that Hong Kong's involvement is not a singular event, but a developing, diversified and strategic partnership across multiple flagship missions. What is most significant is that Hong Kong's horizon has expanded beyond the moon to Mars.

The international payloads for the Tianwen 3 Mars mission, with Hong Kong's involvement, exemplify the sophisticated, multilayered collaboration the SAR now enjoys. They also show that Hong Kong is not just a contributor but a leader, capable of conceiving and directing frontier science on the interplanetary stage, and they highlight Hong Kong's unique value as an international scientific bridge.

Furthermore, partnership with Shenzhen University creates a powerful trio that is emblematic of the future — a premier global space body (the International Lunar Observatory Association), a Hong Kong university with deep international roots, and a pioneering mainland institution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's innovation heartland. Together, the three partners bring complementary strengths to a single instrument, leveraging Hong Kong's global connectivity and Shenzhen's technological dynamism in service of China's national goal.

Tianwen 3 is arguably the most complex deep-space mission ever attempted by any nation. It is aiming to do what has never been done — return pristine Martian soil to Earth. To have Hong Kong's fingerprints on this historic endeavor is beyond what many of us dared to dream just a few years ago.

In addition, the involvement of Chinese University of Hong Kong in a co-principal investigator role on another aspect of these missions confirms that this is a sector-wide awakening. It is not the story of one lab, but of an entire academic ecosystem in Hong Kong rising to the occasion.

For Hong Kong, the implications are profound and extend far beyond its university-based labs, representing an unparalleled engine for talent and solidifying Hong Kong's international standing. The city is now seen as a reliable, world-class partner with privileged access to the most exciting exploration programs on Earth. This attracts top global talent, investment and collaborative projects, enhancing the city's overall knowledge economy.

The Hong Kong SAR has decisively moved from the periphery to the operational core of China's journey into space. Our task now is to oversee this responsibility with the utmost rigor and support, to continue fostering our unique blend of global perspectives and national commitment, and to ensure that the students of today become the mission leaders of tomorrow. The universe, as they say, is the limit, and Hong Kong's star is ascending.

The author is director of the Laboratory for Space Research at the University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.