Hong Kong’s Lai Ka-ying Makes History as First SAR Astronaut, Joins Shenzhou-23 Mission

Jiuquan, – Li Jiaying, known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, has made history as the first astronaut from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to travel to space. The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship, carrying Lai and her two fellow crew members, successfully lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sunday at 11:08 p.m. Beijing Time atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket.

Lai, a payload specialist, is not only the first astronaut from Hong Kong but also the first member from China’s fourth batch of astronauts to fly, and the country’s fourth female astronaut to reach space, following Liu Yang, Wang Yaping, and Wang Haoze. The launch was met with cheers across Hong Kong, where students gathered at universities to witness the historic moment.

From Police Officer to Space

Before her selection, Lai, who holds a PhD in computer forensics, served in the Hong Kong Police Force. Her dream of space began in 2003 when she watched Yang Liwei become China’s first astronaut. In 2022, when the astronaut selection opened to Hong Kong and Macao for the first time, she seized the opportunity. After excelling through rigorous screening, she officially joined the astronaut corps in August 2024.

Since then, she has completed over 200 training tasks across eight categories, accumulating more than 1,700 training hours to meet all flight requirements. She serves on the mission alongside Commander Zhu Yangzhu, a veteran of Shenzhou-16, and spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan, both making their first flights.

A Mission of Science and Pride

During her public debut, Lai expressed her deep gratitude for the opportunity. “Right now, my heart is filled with gratitude and a deep sense of honor… I will not let the people of Hong Kong down, and even more so, I will not fail the trust placed in me by the motherland,” she stated. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee hailed the moment as “a historic moment in the pursuit of its aerospace dream”.

Aboard the Tiangong space station, Lai will be primarily responsible for operating space science experiment equipment. Notably, she is expected to conduct operations with MUSICO, a greenhouse gas detector developed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)—marking the first Hong Kong-developed scientific payload to operate on the station.

A mother of three, Lai described the intensive training as “truly challenging,” crediting her instructors, team, and family for their unwavering support. Among her personal objectives, she noted, “Many people have asked me to take good photos of Hong Kong from above. I will keep that in mind”.