4th September 2026 – (Hong Kong) Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, could hold a live “heaven-earth dialogue” with local students as early as next week, sources said, about three and a half months after she rode Shenzhou-23 to China’s Tiangong space station.
The secretary for innovation, technology and industry, Professor Sun Dong, had already indicated that the classroom-style exchange, sometimes called a “sky classroom”, was most likely once the new school year began in September. Sources cited today said the link-up could now take place as soon as the coming week, letting pupils speak with the Hong Kong payload specialist while she remains on orbit.
Lai, a police superintendent with a doctorate in computer forensics, lifted off in May on Shenzhou-23. In the months since she has carried out on-orbit electroencephalogram tests and human-adaptation research, completed rendezvous-and-docking training and helped maintain equipment in the Wentian laboratory module. On 28th August she worked closely with crewmates Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan through a roughly five-and-a-half-hour spacewalk that included external repairs to a solar wing and other station tasks, officials said the outing was a success.
Separately, the Education Bureau wrote to schools across Hong Kong on 3rd September inviting full-time primary, secondary and tertiary students to join a letter-writing drive under the theme “Messages Across the Stars · Hong Kong Dreams Take Flight”. Organisers hope the notes will convey goodwill to Lai while she continues her manned mission and deepen pupils’ interest in the national space effort.
The contest is split into three bands. Primary pupils from Primary One to Six may submit short essays, handwritten letters or illustrated pieces of 200 to 500 words. Secondary students from Form One to Six and tertiary students must write letters of 500 to 1,000 words and 800 to 1,500 words respectively. Entries can greet and encourage Lai, pose scientific questions, share learning goals, growth stories or STEAM explorations, celebrate the national space programme or express hopes for Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub.
Submissions go by email and close on Monday, 7th September. A panel of experts will judge content, theme, expression and style before picking the awards. Winning letters will be gathered into a commemorative volume, Hong Kong Letters to Tiangong, with selected pieces expected to be sent up to the station around mid-month so the Hong Kong messages can reach her crew compartment in orbit.
 Hong Kong's first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, could hold a live "heaven-earth dialogue" with local students as early as next week, sources said, about three and a half months after she rode Shenzhou-23 to China's Tiangong space station.){kind=link}