Sending HKU into Space — The Laboratory for Space Research (LSR) and Hong Kong's Satellites and Astrophysics

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) Integrated Information Database · 04 Research Module This entry archives the founding background of HKU's Laboratory for Space Research (LSR), its four core research directions, launched satellites, in-orbit and future missions, and its collaboration ecosystem with mainland China's universities. All figures and sources are annotated in situ.

HKU's Laboratory for Space Research (LSR) is the University's sole interdisciplinary platform dedicated to space science. Since its founding in 2016, it has led the development and launch of Hong Kong's first scientific satellite, spearheaded the development of an international payload for the Chang'e-7 lunar mission, and propelled its Evolved Stars research group to a global top-8 ranking in SciVal^※ (metric: SciVal subject impact indicator, 2025 data).

# When and How Was LSR Established?

The Laboratory for Space Research (LSR) at The University of Hong Kong was established in 2016 by astrophysicist and then Chair Professor of Space Science Sun Kwok. Attached to the Faculty of Science, it was positioned as an "autonomous and interdisciplinary research entity" (per LSR's "Who We Are" page^※). Professor Kwok had previously served as Dean of the HKU Faculty of Science (2006–2016), and upon stepping down from the deanship, transitioned into the role of the LSR's inaugural Director (2016–2018). From 2018 onward, Professor Quentin A. Parker^※ took over as LSR Director. Parker joined HKU in 2015 from the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) and Macquarie University, specialising in planetary nebulae and late-stage stellar evolution. The LSR's current members are distributed across the Faculty of Science's departments of Physics, Earth Sciences, and Physics & Astronomy, comprising approximately 25 researchers (per HKU press release 2019^※).

In the same year (15 October 2018), the LSR established a sister laboratory at the HKU-Zhejiang Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-ZIRI, located in Lin'an, Hangzhou), with a strategic investment of HK$10 million^※, focusing on space satellite mission research and development. It also formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU signed: 1 December 2018, per HKU press release^※) with the Microsatellite Research Group of Zhejiang University — one of mainland China's top-tier microsatellite research teams. Concurrently, Professor Parker was appointed a Visiting Professor at Zhejiang University.

# What Does LSR Research? Four Pillars, Each with a Distinct Focus

The LSR's research landscape spans four intersecting pillars, offering a clear complement to the infectious-disease-heavy research narrative documented elsewhere on this site.

Table data sourced from the LSR Research Overview page^※ and its sub-pages.

A unique feature of the Planetary Science group lies in its field-sample research: researchers travel to the Qaidam Basin — often described as "the most Mars-like place on Earth" — to collect samples and analyse minerals using ultraviolet, visible-light, and infrared spectrometers, simulating Martian habitability assessments (per LSR Planetary Science page^※). Work also involves radar remote sensing of Venus, exploring whether the planet once had plate tectonics to infer Earth's early tectonic history.

# Why Is the Evolved Stars Group Ranked 8th Globally?

The LSR's Evolved Stars research group focuses on the final evolutionary stages of low-to-intermediate-mass stars (below approximately 8 solar masses) — the planetary nebula phase: as a stellar core contracts, the material it ejects is ionised, forming spectacular and colourful nebular structures. According to the LSR Evolved Stars page^※, this group is ranked 8th globally in SciVal subject impact indicators.

The core pillar of this ranking is the HASH database (Hong Kong/AAO/Strasbourg Hα Planetary Nebulae Research Platform, hosted at hashpn.space): the world's most comprehensive integrated database of Galactic planetary nebulae, offering functions including filtering, browsing, visualisation, and download. According to data on the same page^※, the database has over 1,140 registered users from more than 250 universities and research institutions, spanning 68 countries.

Professor Parker has discovered more planetary nebulae than any other astronomer in history, authoring over 571 publications (of which 278 are peer-reviewed), accumulating 23,475+ citations, with an h-index of 71 (per 2022 Gemini Prize report^※). In 2022, Parker collaborated with a team of French amateur astronomers, and using 209 Galactic planetary nebulae spectroscopically confirmed over a decade (accounting for roughly 5% of the 3,831 total entries in the HASH database), they were awarded the Le Prix Gemini 2022^※ by the Société Astronomique de France.

# High Energy Astrophysics: From Fermi Bubbles to Multi-Messenger Astronomy

The LSR's high energy astrophysics direction is led by Associate Director Meng Su. Su is one of the co-discoverers of the Fermi Bubbles — two giant gamma-ray emitting lobes extending roughly 10 kiloparsecs (kpc) north and south from the centre of the Milky Way, first detected in 2010 using data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Su and two other researchers were awarded one of the top prizes in high-energy astrophysics, the 2014 Rossi Prize, for this discovery.

Beyond the Fermi Bubbles, the group is deeply involved in multi-messenger astronomy: they provided crucial early data for the LIGO gravitational-wave event GW170817 (a binary neutron star merger) and helped confirm the blazar counterpart (TXS 0506+056) for an IceCube neutrino event (per LSR High Energy Astrophysics page^※). Researcher Pablo Saz Parkinson specialises in the search for radio-quiet pulsars and the discovery of exotic systems. Primary observing facilities currently in use include the Fermi satellite, HAWC (the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory in Mexico, the most sensitive wide-field TeV-level telescope currently operating), and the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray satellites.

# Does HKU Have Its Own Satellites? The Lobster-Eye Story

Yes. On 25 July 2020, the "Lobster-Eye X-ray Microsatellite" (NJU-HKU No.1), jointly led by Nanjing University and HKU's LSR, was successfully launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre aboard a Long March 4B rocket, with initial signal reception confirming orbital insertion (per LSR official announcement^※). This was the first scientific satellite in HKU's history in which the University played a leading role, and the world's first in-orbit space exploration satellite equipped with "lobster-eye" focusing X-ray imaging technology.

The "lobster-eye" technology, named for its mimicry of the reflective focusing principle found in a lobster's compound eye, was theoretically conceived as early as the 1970s. Its characteristics — "large field of view, small size, light weight, and ease of assembly" — make it particularly suited for microsatellite applications. The satellite's primary scientific objectives include verifying ultra-wide-field X-ray imaging capability, searching for dark matter signals (specifically, hypothetical "sterile neutrinos") in nearby massive galaxy clusters, and studying hot intergalactic gas, comets, and solar wind-magnetosphere interactions.

Partner institutions, besides Nanjing University and HKU's LSR, included the 508th Institute of the 5th Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC 508) and Shanghai ASES Spaceflight Technology Company (per phys.org report^※).

# What's Next: The Moon, Mars, and Beyond?

The LSR's next steps have already moved beyond satellite validation into the formal mission sequence of China's national space programme.

Data per LSR Current Mission Plans page^※ and LSR Chang'e-7 special report^※. Testing of the ILO-C telescope's flight model was completed by the end of 2025, and integration onto the payload platform was also completed by late 2025. The Chang'e-7 landing site is a well-illuminated crater rim near the Shackleton Crater at the lunar South Pole, where the telescope is expected to operate continuously for one lunar day (roughly 14 Earth days).

# How Has LSR Unlocked Access to Mainland Astronomy Resources?

In March 2019, the LSR formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This granted HKU astronomers open, shared access to all of the Chinese mainland's ground-based telescope stations, including those accessible through international agreements signed by China — a first for Hong Kong astronomers (per HKU press release 2019^※). This agreement benefits approximately 60 active astronomy researchers at HKU and other Hong Kong universities. During the same visit, HKU was also invited to join the international Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) consortium, formally became a member of the Shanghai Joint Innovation Centre for Space Science (JICSS), and reached a satellite R&D support agreement with the Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity (BISME).

Professor Parker stated: 「This is a highly significant, positive development for HK scientists and astronomers and demonstrates our open-handed, collaborative approach.」 (per HKU press release^※)

# Summary and Unverified Items

• Securely Sourced: LSR's founding year, its two directors and their backgrounds, the Evolved Stars group's global 8th-place ranking (SciVal), the HASH database user statistics, the launch date and technology of the lobster-eye satellite, mission budgets and timelines for Chang'e-7, Tianwen-3, and the lunar CubeSat, and the access agreement for mainland astronomy facilities.
• Treated with Caution: The "global 8th" ranking uses the SciVal metric and is not universal across all ranking systems; Professor Parker's citation records are taken from the LSR's official website and may differ from third-party databases; the lobster-eye satellite remains in a data-validation phase, with detailed scientific results yet to be published.
• Unverified: A detailed breakdown of LSR's total annual research funding sources (no single official consolidated figure exists); Professor Meng Su's current position title within LSR saw official web adjustments prior to the cutoff date of this entry, and this entry only records his Associate Director role and academic contributions per the LSR research page and 2018 press releases.