Astronauts of Shenzhou-9 to visit HK

Three astronauts, Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang, who successfully completed China's first manned space docking mission, will arrive in Hong Kong next Friday for a four-day visit at the invitation of Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung.

The some 40-member delegation comprise key commanders and designers of the manned space program who contributed to the success of docking mission between Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 lab module.

Leung was glad of the upcoming visit of the delegation, "The accomplishment of the Shenzhou-9 mission has opened a new chapter in our country's aerospace history. The crew succeeded in the first manual space docking between airship and space laboratory, had the first female astronaut in a space mission and set records in astronauts working and staying in a space lab module," he said, "the astronauts' perseverance also serves as an encouragement for Hong Kong people."

According to the schedule, the delegation will take part in a variety of activities. They will meet the media at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, attend a dialogue session with local secondary and primary students to share their experiences of their 13-day orbit in space, open the "Exhibition on China's First Manned Space Docking Mission" at the Hong Kong Science Museum and the like.

The delegation will finally attend a farewell ceremony at Government House before leaving for Macao at the Hong Kong-Macao Ferry Terminal, concluding their four-day visit to Hong Kong.