Students, space stars meet, talk cosmology

"What's the view like in outer space? Can astronauts look directly at the sun? I think they can always put on sunglasses when they look at the sun. I haven't been to outer space. Maybe, in the future, you could be the one to tell me how's the view up there when you become an astronaut."

Such questions and sentiments were part of a conversation on Friday at Pui Kiu College in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, between a student and 83-year-old veteran aerospace expert Long Lehao, chief designer of China's Long March rocket series.

This is just a sampling of the spontaneous interactions that took place between youngsters from Hong Kong and a group of top-notch national aerospace experts, the latter of whom are currently on a multiday public appearance tour in the city.

Hundreds of teens from six secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong got the rare chance on Friday to explore the mysteries of the universe with the scientists. Mostly chief designers of prominent space projects, the scholars gave lectures on the nation's aerospace achievements and answered questions students posed about the cosmos.

During these interactions, Long worried that the material was too arcane for his young audience to wrap their minds around. So the veteran scientist came up with a way to bridge the knowledge gap — animation.

In a bid to explain the role of the rockets in the nation's space missions to the youthful participants, Long used Chinese martial arts motifs, further brought to life by animations to explain the role of the rockets.

A student surnamed Lam from Ling To Catholic Primary School in Kowloon came to St. Teresa Secondary School to attend the lecture given by Zhang He, executive director of the Chang'e 4 lunar probe project.

Lam said meeting Zhang, one of her idols, was thrilling. She had practiced her Mandarin for several nights, hoping to get to ask Zhang a few questions during the encounter.

Lam got what she wished for – answers and encouragement from Zhang, plus her autograph – something Lam said she would greatly treasure. She added that she can't wait to share what she heard with her classmates on Monday.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's top leader took a question from China Daily at a Friday news conference. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the visit of leading national scientists can help fire up dreams of scientific achievement among the city's youngsters.