PolyU has collaborated with the Hong Kong Space Museum to showcase an interactive exhibit “Moon | Mars VR”, for one year starting from December. The virtual reality exhibit, powered by PolyU’s cutting-edge technology that assists the Nation’s space missions, allows the public to experience spacewalking and explore the landing sites of Chang’e-4 and Tianwen-1 spacecrafts on the Moon and Mars.
The VR exhibit makes use of data provided by the relevant space agencies of China and the PolyU research team led by Prof. Wu Bo, Fiona Cheung Professor in Spatial Science, Associate Director of Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE) and Associate Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, to create a virtual reality environment of the landing sites on the Moon and Mars, allowing visitors to virtually experience spacewalking on the two celestial bodies. Invited by the China National Space Administration, this VR system was also recently showcased at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition held at Zhuhai and enthusiastically received by audience.
The launch ceremony was held on 3 December 2022 at the Museum and was officiated by Prof. Wu Bo and the Curator of the Hong Kong Space Museum, Mr Timothy Ho Man Hung.
Prof. Wu said, “As the only Hong Kong institution contributing to the Nation’s astronautical projects, PolyU has been deeply involved in China’s lunar and Mars missions. We are pleased to collaborate with the Hong Kong Space Museum in showcasing this exhibit, inviting the public to experience some of the scientific research achievements of PolyU and the Nations’ space exploration accomplishments over the years. Looking forward, it is hoped that more events and exhibitions with a focus on space technology can be held to promote greater awareness and interest among the public and young people.”
To further contribute to the development of China's aerospace technology, PolyU has established the RCDSE to promote interdisciplinary researches in space resources and associate technologies for explorations and exploitations, and also signed a cooperation agreement with the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in China to establish the “Joint Research Centre of Advanced Aerospace Propulsion Technology”. The University fully supports the selection of payload specialists in Hong Kong for China’s manned space programme, and previously held a seminar on campus to encourage outstanding young scholars to apply. PolyU will continue to realise our vision to benefit the Nation and Hong Kong by nurturing talents and pursuing cutting-edge scientific research.
The “Moon | Mars VR” exhibit is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and PolyU, and jointly organised by the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Planetary Remote Sensing Laboratory of PolyU’s Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations, and supported by the China National Space Administration’s Information Office.
For more information, please visit the museum website at:
https://hk.space.museum/en_US/web/spm/exhibitions/permanent-exhibition/moon-mars-vr.html| Research Units | Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations |
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