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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, officiated at the opening ceremony of the "Exhibition on China's Lunar Exploration Programme" at the Hong Kong Science Museum today (July 21). The exhibition is open to the public from 2pm today and runs until August 24.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mrs Lam said, "China achieved its first soft landing and ground exploration on the lunar surface in December 2013 by the successful landing of Chang'e-3 with its lander and the lunar rover. This marked another milestone for the development of aerospace technology in China, following the launch of satellites and the manned space docking mission." She added that it was a great honour that the Hong Kong Polytechnic University had participated in this important project and contributed to the aerospace development of our country.
She also said that the success of the Chang'e-3 mission played an important role in the future of the lunar exploration project. With the development of China's aerospace technology, it is believed that Chinese astronauts will soon be able to land on the moon and collect samples from the surface of the moon for the conduction of more scientific research, bring new hope to the space exploration by the mankind.
China launched the Chang'e Programme lunar exploration project in 2004 and completed the orbiting phase by launching the Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 lunar probes in 2007 and 2010 respectively, helping to gather more data for a lunar landing.
Featuring around 20 sets of models and specially designed interactive exhibits, including the lunar lander for Chang'e-3, the Yutu Lunar Rover, Long March rockets, a satellite, simulations of the launch site and the lunar rover, the exhibition offers the public a great opportunity to learn more about the accomplishments of the Chang'e-1, 2 and 3 missions, scientific knowledge related to China's lunar exploration programme, and the moon itself.
In addition, the exhibition introduces details of local participation in the space technology used for the Chang'e-3 mission, including the "Camera Pointing System" jointly developed by researchers of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and China Academy of Space Technology, and the "Innovative lunar mapping techniques" developed by the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The former was mounted on the upper part of the lander and deployed for capturing panoramic images of the moon as well as the release and movement of the Yutu Lunar Rover. The latter was deployed in the topographical analysis of the moon and the selection of the landing site, contributing to the successful landing of Chang'e-3.
The exhibition is presented by the Home Affairs Bureau and the China National Space Administration, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the News Center of China National Space Administration, and the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of China National Space Administration, in association with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It is sponsored by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Glorious Sun Holdings Limited, China Resources (Holdings) Co Ltd, China Merchants Group Ltd, China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation, and Aisino Corporation.
Other officiating guests at today's ceremony were the Deputy Director of China National Space Administration, Mr Zhang Jianhua; the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, Mr Wang Zhimin; the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, Mr Hu Jianzhong; the Deputy Director of Department of Liaison, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council of The People's Republic of China, Mr Zhou Jun; the Director of the Department of General Planning, China National Space Administration, Mr Wu Zhijian; the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of China's Lunar Exploration Programme, Mr Li Bengzheng; the Chief Designer of China's Lunar Exploration Programme, Mr Wu Weiren; the Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Publicity, China Manned Space Engineering Office, Mr Liu Cheng; the Chief Engineer of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Mr Sun Weigang; the Vice General Manager of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Mr Mao Yuanjian; the Head of Office of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mr Liu Xiaoqun; the Vice President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Professor Alexander Wai; the Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Glorious Sun Holdings Ltd, Dr Charles Yeung; the Vice-chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Mr David Fong; the General Manager of China Merchants Group Ltd, Dr Li Xiaopeng; and the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Michelle Li.
Admission to the exhibition is free. For more details, please visit the museum's website at hk.science.museum. For enquiries, please call 2732 3232.
Ends/Monday, July 21, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:25
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