China’s latest manned space mission has gone off without a hitch, with the Shenzhou XXIII spacecraft blasting off on schedule on Sunday night from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province, carrying its three-member crew – commander Zhu Yangzhu, astronaut Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying – the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s first woman astronaut and the nation’s first female civilian to go into orbit.

As a female legislator in Hong Kong, I harbor an immense feeling of pride, emotion, as well as an overwhelming sense of possibility. The significance goes far beyond the symbolic weight of just a “Hong Kong astronaut”. It’s a powerful reminder that the close bond between the SAR’s younger generation and the country’s future has never been more tangible and resilient.

To understand why this national mission matters, we need to look back at Hong Kong’s decades-long journey in the national space program – a path from being an intermediary to an innovator, from peripheral support to core participation. The success hasn’t been achieved overnight.

Hong Kong’s participation in the nation’s space ambitions had begun earlier than many would think. In 1990, Hong Kong-based AsiaSat commissioned a Long March III rocket to launch AsiaSat I into orbit, marking the first time China’s space industry had provided a commercial launch service for an overseas client. In the following years, Hong Kong companies continued to use Long March rockets to deploy communications satellites across the Asia-Pacific region.  At that stage, the city played the role of a connector, leveraging its status as a free port and global financial hub to help the Chinese aerospace industry enter the global commercial market.

In the past two decades, Hong Kong’s role has evolved into something far more consequential. Its research institutions have moved from facilitating business opportunities to solving cutting-edge engineering challenges. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in particular, became a crucial player. From the camera pointing systems used in the Chang’e III and Chang’e IV missions, to the surface sampling and packing system aboard Chang’e V and Chang’e VI, and the Mars landing surveillance camera carried by Tianwen I, instruments developed by PolyU teams have repeatedly proved themselves imaginable under the harshest conditions – millions of kilometers from Earth.

The importance of these achievements lies not only in the technology itself, but in what they’ve shown – Hong Kong possesses world-class capabilities in precision engineering and advanced instrumentation. This has never been just symbolic participation. These are genuine, mission-critical contributions. And now, the SAR has reached another milestone.

The Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory camera payload recently delivered to China’s space station aboard the Tianzhou X cargo spacecraft represents a historic leap forward. Developed under the leadership of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the compact high-resolution greenhouse gas monitoring payload will, for the first time, be operated primarily by a Hong Kong astronaut in orbit. It’s designed to monitor major carbon dioxide and methane emission sources across low- and mid-latitude regions worldwide.

This is not only Hong Kong’s first scientific payload aboard the country’s space station. It signals the city’s breakthrough in developing advanced aerospace research instruments at the national and international levels. More importantly, it demonstrates Hong Kong’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to global climate governance and China’s “dual carbon” goals.

From helping the country’s rockets to access international markets, to contributing key technologies for lunar and Mars exploration, and now independently developing payloads operated aboard the space station by a Hong Kong astronaut, every step has been hard-earned. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is apt calling the participation of Hong Kong researchers in crewed space missions a recognition not just of individual excellence, but of the city’s scientific and technological capabilities as a whole. That recognition was earned over more than three decades. Lai stands as the most inspiring milestone yet on that journey, symbolizing a giant leap for Hong Kong.

Lai’s resume reads like an extraordinary cross-disciplinary journey. She earned her undergraduate degree in computer science at The University of Hong Kong before completing postgraduate and doctoral studies. Rather than entering the corporate world, she joined the Hong Kong Police Force, applying her technical expertise to public service and security. The leap from a police technical specialist to a national reserve astronaut is almost unimaginable.

In 2022, China’s fourth round of reserve astronaut recruitment opened for the first time to candidates from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, signifying more trust and inclusiveness.

Lai’s success is the result of both personal perseverance and national opportunity. She had spent years building her expertise through rigorous academic training, developed psychological resilience and practical experience through police work, and then chose to step far outside her comfort zone to undergo one of the world’s toughest training programs.

Astronaut training has long been regarded as one of the most physically and mentally demanding tests imaginable. Candidates have to endure more than 200 separate training programs designed to push both the body and mind to their limits. Lai has made it.

What I see in her is a quality long embodied by many Hong Kong women – the ability to thrive in fields that demand extreme precision, discipline and resilience. More importantly, her journey has captured the evolving identity of modern women. Women aren’t merely caretakers, supporters or background figures in society. We’re builders of civilization, guardians of families, seekers of dreams and, above all, authors of our own lives.

Lai’s mission also reflects the growing recognition of women within China’s space program. From Liu Yang to Wang Yaping and now herself, more women are entering space not as symbolic figures, but as indispensable scientific professionals. During her six months aboard the space station, Lai will conduct experiments like operating Hong Kong's first scientific payload to monitor greenhouse gases. Her work will show the world that at the frontiers of science and technology, women aren’t just decorative additions – they’re core contributors.

I wish the Shenzhou XXIII mission every success. I look forward to hearing Lai's sharing of her triumphant journey in space – a story that will certainly inspire Hong Kong’s young people to dream bigger. From Victoria Harbor to outer space, from distant aspirations to a shared destiny, this is one of the defining stories of our time.

The author is a member of the Legislative Council and the UN Association of China.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.