Students from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions were thrilled by science lectures and experiments from the in-orbit Shenzhou XXIII crew, including Hong Kong's first homegrown astronaut Lai Ka-ying, during a live-broadcast class on Wednesday.

The 90-minute class, a special session for Hong Kong and Macao students under the Tiangong Class series, was beamed from China’s Tiangong space station starting at 9:50 am Beijing time to pupils across the two cities.

Apart from Lai, the mission’s payload specialist, commander Zhu Yangzhu and pilot Zhang Zhiyuan also attended the class and shared their experiences.

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Education authorities in Hong Kong and Macao encouraged all local primary and secondary schools to arrange for pupils and teachers to tune into the event from their own classrooms.

Students at Lai’s old school, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College, watched the class in a specially designated space, and were joined by students and educators from Macao.

Addressing the audience gathered at the school, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu thanked the nation for giving Hong Kong students the chance to learn more about space and experience the wonder of aerospace.

The selection of Lai as a national astronaut indicates that the space dream has never been out of reach — Hong Kong people can contribute to the nation's space endeavors, Lee noted.

He also noted Hong Kong's research teams have proactively played various roles in the country's Lunar, Martian and other space exploration missions, serving the nation's aerospace program with the city’s technology prowess.

Before the class started, some students expressed their excitement and curiosity to learn about daily life in space.

Leading experts from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in relevant research fields were also among the audience at the school, sharing the latest space research advancements and Hong Kong's contributions to the nation's aerospace endeavors.

“There will surely be a stage for you in the future of both our nation and Hong Kong”, said Chow Kam-pui, Lai’s PhD tutor and honorary associate professor of School of Computing and Data Science at HKU. He encouraged students to equip themselves well, and said that their efforts will give them a greater chance to contribute to the nation’s missions in the future.

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At Pui Kiu Middle School in North Point, over 100 students gathered to watch the class. In 2003, China's first in-orbit astronaut, Yang Liwei, planted an oak tree at the school during his visit to Hong Kong SAR.

Liu Wing-yui, a Form 5 student, expressed her excitement about watching the session and her pride that Hong Kong SAR has its first homegrown astronaut. "I hope to learn more about their life in space," she said.

The Tiangong Class series events have transformed China’s orbiting space station into a high-tech classroom, featuring in-orbit astronauts who take students across the nation on virtual tours of the Tiangong station’s internal environment, conduct live scientific experiments, and host real-time interactive exchange sessions.

The initial class was delivered in 2021 by three crew members of Shenzhou XII, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Wang Yaping.