Hong Kong Space Robotics and Energy Centre (HKSREC)

香港太空机械人与能源中心

The Hong Kong Space Robotics and Energy Centre (HKSREC) is a research centre established by the Hong Kong SAR Government under the AIR@InnoHK research cluster and led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). It was set up with funding from the Innovation and Technology Commission to deliver the Hong Kong Operation Robot, a multifunctional lunar surface operation robot and mobile charging station for China's Chang'e-8 mission, after the China National Space Administration (CNSA) selected HKUST in November 2024 to lead this international cooperation project. It is the first time a Hong Kong-led team has been responsible for developing a core scientific payload for a lunar mission. Partner institutions listed by InnoHK are HKUST, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, Dalian University of Technology and the South African National Space Agency; HKUST's original announcement also named The University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and Shenzhen University. The centre's current director is Professor Gao Yang of HKUST's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Chair Professor Sun Qingping and Professor Yu Hongyu were appointed director and co-director when the centre was formed.

Chang'e-8 belongs to the fourth phase of China's lunar exploration program and is a precursor mission for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). It is scheduled for launch around 2029 and will land at the lunar south pole carrying a suite of international surface robots. The Hong Kong Operation Robot weighs about 100 kg and carries dual robotic arms, which HKUST describes as a global first in deep space exploration. It is designed to deploy and install instruments, collect lunar surface samples, carry out scientific exploration and use a mobile wireless charging function to recharge other surface equipment. The team cites three main design challenges: surviving extreme polar cold, which requires advanced materials and thermal management; localization, navigation, autonomous motion and manipulation control without satellite navigation; and keeping the robot light. Within HKUST, Professor Gao leads the robot's operational intelligence, Professor Duan Molong its dexterous control systems, Professor Shi Ling the integration of mobility and control, Professor Walter Wang Zhe a thermal management system using advanced materials and controlled fluid loops, and Professor Sun Qingping an experimental thermal management payload. More than 100 interdisciplinary researchers are involved, and the project follows China's aerospace quality assurance system.

Beyond Chang'e-8, the centre's stated mission is to develop intelligent, resilient robotic systems for orbital servicing, in-situ resource utilization and planetary surface operations. In April 2026 it hosted the event Leading Space Intelligence: Into the Future in Hong Kong, where a Beijing-Shanghai-Hong Kong Innovation Hub Initiative on Space Intelligence was launched and a scale model of the robot was presented to the Commissioner for Innovation and Technology.