【October 21, 2014, CMSP News】On October 14, the Space Science Experiment Design Competition for Hong Kong Secondary School Student officially opened in Hong Kong. The competition is jointly organized by China Manned Space Engineering Office and the Home Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR Government. One or more chosen experiment designs will have the opportunity to be demonstrated onboard the Tiangong-2 space station.
On the ceremony, China's first astronaut Yang Liwei, China's first spacewalk astronaut Zhai Zhigang, China's first female astronaut Liu Yang and China's first space lecturer Wang Yaping sent videos to congratulate the opening of the competition. They hope that students of Hong Kong can actively participate in the competition, learn more about aerospace, make contributions to China's manned space industry and leave splendid memories in their youth.
All Hong Kong secondary schools are eligible to participate on a team basis in designing experiments that are feasible for conducting in space. The judging panel will assess the submitted entries of the preliminary round and downsize 20 top teams for the final round based on five criteria-innovation, scientific validity, experimental feasibility, safety, and clarity of expression. The downsized teams will receive technical guidance from experts and undergo the final assessment interview to compete for the prizes of Champion, 1st Runner Up, 2nd Runner Up, Creative Award and Best Potential Award.
The Hong Kong Productivity Council will help construct the winning experiment designs into models that are feasible for conducting in space. The designs that can pass the testing of China Manned Space Agency will have the opportunity to be carried onboard Tiangong-2 in early 2016 for demonstration by astronauts in zero gravity. The awarded school teams will also have the opportunity to visit the Beijing Aerospace City or the spacecraft launch center on the Mainland, and interact with space engineers in person.
The competition is co-organized by the Education Bureau of the HKSAR Government and implemented by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, and the China Academy of Space Technology. It is now open for entry until 6pm, 27 February 2015. For more information about the Competition, please visit the website: http://spaceexperiment.hkpc.org (By Zhang Titi)