Macau will participate in the development of the nation’s space programme by selecting candidates to be trained as payload specialists who will have the opportunity to undertake scientific research and experiments in space and operate the space laboratory equipment, the Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) said in a statement on Monday.
It’s the first time that applicants from Macau have been offered the chance to join the nation’s space programme as astronauts. The selection process started on Monday.
The statement said that the selection process is divided into three stages: first round, second round and final selection, which will take one and a half years, adding that applications for the payload specialist selection in Macau will be accepted until October 17.
The programme is organised by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), carried out by the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre and coordinated by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council. The local co-organisers are the AACM, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) and the Health Bureau (SSM), the statement noted.
The three co-organisers held a joint press conference on Monday on the AACM premises. The presser was held by AACM President Simon Chan Weng Hong, DSEDJ Tertiary Education Department Chief Carlos Roberto Xavier, and Dr Wong Wai Lap, medical assessor for the aviation sector of the Health Bureau.
Chan said during the press conference that the selection of the local payload specialists fully reflects the mainland’s care and support for Macau, as well as the affirmation of the work of Macau’s scientific researchers, and encourages the new generation to study hard and devote themselves to scientific research in the future.
Chan quoted the mainland authorities as saying that 12 to 14 reserve astronauts will be selected, among them seven to eight as spacecraft pilots and five to six as spaceflight engineers including two payload specialists, underlining that one of the payload specialists will be from Macau. The reserve astronauts will receive about two and a half years training at the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre before carrying out their mission, Chan added.
Since payload specialists have certain educational requirements and age restrictions, Chan said he believed that the main candidates for payload specialists will be scientific researchers from local colleges and research institutions.
Moreover, Xavier said that the basic requirements for the target candidates are to be Chinese nationals aged 30 to 45 who are permanent residents of Macau with a doctoral degree and have been engaged for at least three years in the research fields of medicine, biology, psychology, physics or chemistry, mechanical or electrical engineering, astronomy and other disciplines. The candidates should also be in good health, he underlined.
According to Xavier, Macau’s tertiary education and research institutions will participate in the selection process by further explaining the necessary requirements to potential applicants. He pointed out that applications will be accepted until October 17, adding that applicants can seek participating institutions’ assistance.
In addition, Wong said that at the end of the application period, the candidates will undergo a medical examination, including clinical examination, electrophysiological examination, such as an electrocardiogram, blood test, and imaging examination, adding that their families will also undergo infectious disease examination.
Candidates & their families must love motherland
According to the AACM, candidates are required to be 162-175 centimetres in height for men and 160-175 centimetres for women, with no criminal record. The statement underlined that candidates and their families must love the motherland and support the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”.
National news agency Xinhua quoted the CMSA as saying that the spaceflight engineers will be selected from those engaged in scientific research and engineering work in aerospace engineering and related fields, while the payload specialists will come from researchers focusing on space science and applications.
As the organiser of the recruitment, the CMSA will, for the first time, select payload specialists from the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, Xinhua pointed out, adding that the spacecraft pilots will be recruited from the in-service pilots of the armed forces, according to the CMSA.
One each of the two payload specialists will be selected from Hong Kong and Macau respectively.
Details of the selection process can be found on the “Payload Specialist Selection Programme in Macao” of the AACM’s official website: https://www.aacm.gov.mo/index.php?r=selection/index&pageid=221.
Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Tertiary Education Department Chief Carlos Roberto Xavier (from left to right), Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) President Simon Chan Weng Hong and Health Bureau (SSM) Aviation Medical Assessor Wong Wai Lap address Monday’s press conference at the multi-function room of the Office of the Civil Aviation Authority in Nape. – Xinhua
