Hong Kong may host Shenzhou-23 crew in 2027, including astronaut Lai Ka-ying

Hong Kong could welcome the astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 mission, including the city’s history-making payload specialist, as early as the first half of next year, the technology chief has said.Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong also said on Sunday that the government would establish a new space manufacturing research centre under InnoHK by this year, focusing on using 3D printing and artificial intelligence (AI) to support future space development.“I hope that after the Shenzhou-23 crew returns, a visit by the astronauts to Hong Kong can be organised soon,” he told a television programme.“This could take place as early as the first half of next year.”He added that the visit might include the city’s first payload specialist, who was launched to the Tiangong space station earlier.Hong Kong-born payload specialist Lai Ka-ying is China’s first female payload expert, who was selected for training in 2024 as part of the country’s fourth batch of astronauts.According to the China-manned-space-agency" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="132463" data-entity-type="organization">China Manned Space Agency, she completed 1,700 training hours after being recruited and passed the flight qualification assessment with flying colours.