Thirty secondary students taking part in the seven-day Young Astronaut Training Camp will set off for Beijing on July 27.
Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing, Director of Leisure & Cultural Services Betty Fung and other guests officiated at a send-off ceremony for them today at the Space Museum.
Mr Tsang said the programme has been well received in the past three years. "This year, the young astronauts will, for the first time, visit the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu, the main base in China for manned spacecraft."
China's space technology development has seen great progress in recent years, he said, adding the Tiangong-1, the model for China's space laboratory, was launched last September and the Shenzhou-9 carrying three astronauts was launched in June.
"It is believed that the space station will be set up in the very near future," he added.
Camp recruitment began in May. One hundred and forty-five schools nominated 239 students to apply for the training camp. After three rounds of selection, 30 students - 20 girls and 10 boys - were selected to be young astronauts.
The camp will take place from July 27 to August 2. Participants will visit major space facilities and will be taught basic space science and technology. They will undergo astronaut training including donning and taking off a spacesuit and use of a space kitchen. They will also take an examination and be presented with certificates.
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