Hong Kong is set to make history as Dr Lai Ka-ying becomes the city’s first astronaut to join a national space mission, after being named as a payload expert for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 manned spaceflight mission.

The announcement was made by the China Manned Space Agency on Friday, with Chief Executive John Lee describing the milestone as “a historic moment in the pursuit of Hong Kong’s aerospace dream”. He thanked the country for its trust and support, saying the mission reflects strong recognition of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology talent.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dr Lai holds a doctorate in computer forensics and serves as a Superintendent in the Hong Kong Police Force. She was selected in 2022 as part of the nation’s fourth batch of preparatory astronauts and underwent training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre.

Dr Lai said she was deeply honoured to represent Hong Kong in the mission and hoped her journey would inspire more young people to pursue innovation, technology and scientific research.