Researchers behind the city’s first home-grown scientific payload deployed at the Tiangong Space Station on Wednesday said the device will be in orbit for at least two years to track the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Developed by researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory — known as MUSICO or the "Eye For Space" — was carried aboard Monday’s launch of the Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft.

The payload arrived at the national space station later that day.

Despite being smaller than a household washing machine, the instrument is designed to monitor emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane from orbit.

Professor Su Hui, project lead and director of the university’s space science and technology institute, said the mission targets high-intensity industrial sources.

“Our target right now is those strong emission industrial sources, like coal burning power plants, coal mines, or even landfills and some factories. They have very strong emissions,” she said.

She said the payload is expected to begin data collection in about one to one and a half months, once it has been deployed to orbit by astronauts.

“So it will stay there for two years, take data, and if everything goes well, it can stay there even longer.”

The team said data collected by MUSICO will be shared with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to assist in setting national carbon reduction targets.

The information will also be shared with the SAR’s Environmental Protection Department and the Hong Kong Observatory.

On the commercial front, the university said it is already collaborating with CLP to evaluate waste reduction and energy strategies, while also seeking potential buyers globally, including from Belt and Road countries.

Su, who moved to Hong Kong in 2022, following a distinguished career at the US space agency Nasa, said the project demonstrates that the SAR has a rich talent pool capable of designing world-leading, high-precision instruments.

“It also shows the central government’s recognition of Hong Kong’s capability. So I think such collaboration between Hong Kong and the mainland will be going further,” she added.


Edited by Tony Sabine