The national space agency said on Wednesday astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau are on track to make their inaugural space flight as early as next year in a first for the two special administrative regions.

The update came close to a year after the China Manned Space Agency selected two payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau to join its fourth batch of preparatory astronauts.

News of their eligibility came as the agency announced the crew for Thursday's Shenzhou-20 launch.

Speaking at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the northeastern Gobi Desert, agency spokesman Lin Xiqiang said the SAR astronauts had carried out a number of studies and physical and psychological training according to plans.

"Since joining the batch, the astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau quickly adapted to the working and living environment, rapidly integrated into the team of astronauts, trained very hard, and all their work progress has been smooth," he said.

"Currently, they are conducting studies and training in professional aerospace technology.

"As payload specialists, astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau are expected to carry out their first flight mission in 2026 at the earliest," he said.

Lin also noted that the fourth batch of 10 preparatory astronauts would continue to carry out more training based on established plans and be included as candidates to join flight crews once they qualify.

Payload specialists are professional scientific researchers who are mainly responsible for conducting experiments or research. They are also responsible for overseeing daily operations in space stations with other astronauts.

The Hong Kong payload specialist was selected from 80 hopefuls after the national agency announced for the first time in 2022 that it will recruit for such positions from regions such as Hong Kong and Macau.