The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced yesterday that a total of 10 candidates have been selected for the fourth batch of astronauts, including a payload specialist from Macau, the first time that a local resident has been selected for the national space programme.

The local government said in a statement that the first-ever selection of payload specialist from Macau for the national space programme highlights the central government’s “high regard” and support for the city’s technological innovation, enabling it to take an important step forward in the field of space science and technology.

“This achievement……is an honour for the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and sends a strong message of encouragement to Macau’s young people,” the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in yesterday’s statement, underlining that the local government will actively complement the development of national policies, in which it will strengthen its collaboration with the central government and relevant authorities, while deepening exchanges and cooperation between the two places in the field of space science and technology.

The China Manned Space Agency said in an announcement earlier yesterday that the selection of the fourth batch of Chinese astronaut candidates has recently been completed, and a total of 10 candidates have finally been listed as “reserve astronauts”, comprising eight space pilots and two payload specialists – one each from Hong Kong and Macau.

The announcement did not list the names of the 10 candidates.

The China Manned Space Agency began in the second half of 2022 the selection of its fourth batch of 12-14 Chinese astronaut candidates, opening, for the first time, the application process to Hong Kong and Macau residents for payload specialists. The basic criteria for the selection of payload specialists for the Macau region are being a Chinese national holding a permanent Macau ID card, aged between 30 and 45, who holds a doctoral degree and has been working for not less than three years in a relevant field of specialisation, such as medicine, biology, psychology, physical or chemical engineering, and mechanical or electrical engineering astronomy.

According to the CMSA official website, the selection, which went through three stages – preliminary selection, re-selection and final selection – has been completed smoothly, and the selected 10 reserve astronauts will receive comprehensive and systematic training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center. The website also said that the first-ever selection for Macau and Hong Kong candidates “had received strong support and enthusiastic participation from all walks of life and the public in Hong Kong and Macau”.

Meanwhile, according to the GCS statement, the local government expressed its most sincere gratitude to the central government for its long-term efforts in creating a favourable environment and conditions for Macau’s technological development, pointing out that “Macau is committed to advancing the field of technological innovation and to continually reaching new heights in that regard and aspires to make greater contributions to the national aerospace development,” adding that with the full support of the central government, the local government will double its efforts to cultivate a greater number of people with talents related to scientific research, enhance the infrastructure for technological innovation and actively promote the integration of aerospace technology with other fields, aiming to make further contributions to the high-quality development of the city’s economy.

The Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) said in a separate statement yesterday that in accordance with the press release practice of the China Manned Space Agency, specific information on the candidates will not be released for the time being.

As reported by Xinhua, the agency selected 14 astronauts among People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) pilots in 1998 and an additional seven in 2010. In 2020, it completed the selection of the third batch of 18 astronauts, which included space pilots, flight engineers, and payload specialists.

According to a statement by the Hong Kong government yesterday, payload specialists are a category of astronauts classified by types of missions. They are professional scientific researchers who carry out scientific and applied research in space stations.

This image downloaded from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) website shows yesterday’s orbital parameters of the China Space Station.