Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations In-Depth Archive: Yung Kai-leung, Wu Bo, and Lunar Soil Research

Module: 04 Research · Sub-file: Institutional Archive This archive focuses on PolyU's Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE)—using the centre and its dual leadership (Yung Kai-leung, Wu Bo) as the narrative core, to fill in the research-centre perspective missing from existing instrument-specific archives (for the sampling and封裝 system, see lunar-sampling-system.md; for the Mars camera, see mars-camera-tianwen.md). Sources are primarily first-hand PolyU official materials and PolyU publications.

---

# I. Institutional Overview at a Glance

The following data is sourced from first-hand PolyU official channels (RCDSE Website^※, July 2024 Press Release^※):

---

# Why Was the RCDSE Established in 2021?

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's involvement in aerospace engineering can be traced back to the 2000s, but consolidating space research capabilities scattered across the engineering and surveying departments into an independent research centre was a strategic move, formalised with the establishment of the RCDSE in May 2021^※ under PAIR.

The RCDSE's official mission is to "convene interdisciplinary researchers and engineers to explore ultimate questions about the universe's evolution and the origin and demise of life, and to research planetary resource exploration and utilisation technologies." The centre explicitly lists four application visions: alleviating the energy crisis by mining lunar helium-3 (³He); assisting in addressing climate change; discovering new minerals and materials; and providing technical support for the future construction of crewed lunar bases. This positioning tightly couples fundamental science (lunar evolution, the origin of water resources) with national strategic needs (the Chang'e-7/8 International Lunar Research Station).

The timing in 2021 was no coincidence—Chang'e-5 completed humanity's first lunar sample return in 44 years in December 2020, a success in which the "Surface Sampling and Sealing System" developed by the PolyU team (led by Yung Kai-leung) played a crucial role. The opening of a new phase in the lunar exploration programme spurred the creation of this research centre, which merges the "tool-building" and "science-doing" disciplines under one roof.

---

# Who is Yung Kai-leung? What Is His Role in Precision Engineering and Aerospace?

Professor Yung Kai-leung (Ir Prof. Kai Leung Yung, BBS) is the Director of the RCDSE. He holds the "Sir Sze-yuen Chung Endowed Professorship in Precision Engineering^※" and is a Chair Professor and Associate Head of PolyU's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The BBS (Bronze Bauhinia Star) is a civil honour awarded by the Hong Kong SAR Government to individuals with outstanding contributions to the community and their profession.

His academic background spans precision engineering, mechatronics, automatic control, and micro/nano manufacturing. For over three decades, his team has developed core precision instruments for several major national space missions: the Camera Pointing Systems for Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4; the Surface Sampling and Sealing Systems for Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6; and the Mars Landing Surveillance Camera for the Tianwen-1 Mars mission. Each instrument had to pass "space qualification"—proving a device can operate reliably under vacuum, extreme temperature swings, and heavy radiation, with no possibility of in-orbit repair.

For his contribution to the Chang'e-5 lunar sampling mission, Yung Kai-leung received an "Outstanding Individual Award"^※ (2023), jointly conferred by five national ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, cementing his authority within the national lunar exploration programme. The namesake of his endowed chair, Sir Sze-yuen Chung, was the first Chairman of the Polytechnic's Council in 1972. This historical thread, from industrial education to the nation's space programme, is one of PolyU's most symbolic lineages.

---

# Who is Wu Bo? How Does Lunar Mapping Support Sampling and Exploration?

Professor Wu Bo is the Associate Director of the RCDSE. He holds the "Fiona Cheung Endowed Professorship in Spatial Science^※" and is based in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), where he also serves as Associate Head for Research. The "Fiona Cheung" professorship was established through a donation by Hong Kong businesswoman Ms Fiona Cheung, MH, who stated she was "proud of PolyU scientists participating in multiple national space missions."

Wu Bo earned his PhD in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing from Wuhan University in 2006. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at The Ohio State University, working on NASA-funded lunar and Mars exploration projects, before joining PolyU in 2009. His core expertise is planetary 3D topographic mapping and geomorphological analysis. In simpler terms, he uses remote sensing imagery and photogrammetry to create high-precision 3D terrain maps of the Moon and Mars to support landing site selection.

Wu Bo's team has provided topographic mapping and landing site analysis for Chang'e-3, Chang'e-4, and Chang'e-5^※, and successfully identified a safe and scientifically valuable landing site for the Tianwen-1 Mars mission. For his contribution to Tianwen-1, he also received an "Outstanding Individual Award" jointly conferred by five national ministries^※. To date, he has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and secured a cumulative total of over HK$20 million in research funding from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

---

# How Did the Chang'e-5 Lunar Soil Arrive on Campus? How Are the Samples Stored?

On 3 July 2024, PolyU announced it had successfully acquired samples of Chang'e-5 lunar soil. Wu Bo travelled personally to the National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing to transport the samples back to Hong Kong.

Two samples, weighing a total of 442.6 milligrams^※, are broken down as follows:

The samples are currently stored in a purpose-built Lunar Soil Storage and Analysis System within the RCDSE's campus-based Space Resources Laboratory. This system is filled with 99.999% high-purity nitrogen to eliminate air and moisture contamination. It is also equipped with nine advanced instruments supporting 12 different in-situ analysis methods, enabling multi-dimensional analysis from morphology to chemical composition without removing the samples or disrupting their storage environment. This system grants PolyU the long-term research capacity to handle samples from the Moon, Mars, or even asteroids.

After acquiring the samples, Yung Kai-leung stated: "We designed the surface sampling device for Chang'e-5, which brought back the youngest lunar soil samples in history. Now, this lunar soil is preserved right here on PolyU's campus—this holds special significance for the team." (Approximate translation from a Chinese quotation, source: ScienceNet.cn / China News Service report^※)

---

# "Finding Water in Lunar Soil": What Is the PolyU Team Investigating and Why Does It Matter?

The RCDSE's in-depth lunar soil analysis research programme is centred on the core theme of "Finding Water in Lunar Soil", with a specific focus on microstructural analysis of agglutinates.

Agglutinates are a distinctive type of particle found in lunar soil—formed when micrometeorite impacts generate extreme temperatures on the lunar surface, fusing mineral fragments and glassy melts together. They are products of "space weathering" on the Moon and a key material for studying the interaction between solar wind and the lunar surface. The research team is primarily investigating:

• What is the micromorphology of these agglutinates?
• What is the water content inside these particles, and what is its chemical state?
• Where does this water come from—is it from solar wind implantation, brought by cometary/meteorite impacts, or a relic of ancient lunar volcanic activity?

Wu Bo explains the scientific value of this water: "Lunar water may originate from various sources, including solar wind implantation, comet or meteorite impacts, as well as lunar volcanic activity^※." This is not a matter of pure scientific curiosity—pinpointing the origin and retention forms of water directly impacts the engineering feasibility of "in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) of lunar water" for the future Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 lunar research station construction phase.

The research team executing this programme is co-led by Yung Kai-leung and Wu Bo, with core members including Dr Wang Xing (Postdoctoral Fellow, LSGI) and Dr Sergey Krasilnikov (Research Assistant Professor, LSGI).

---

# What Are the Functions of RCDSE's Three Major Laboratory Platforms?

The RCDSE currently operates three dedicated research platforms^※, with complementary functions:

The three platforms collectively span a complete research chain, from "orbital remote sensing for site selection → in-orbit instrument development → sample return and analysis back on Earth." The Space Resources Laboratory is also positioned as a future-oriented "sample bank"—when the Chàng'é-6 far-side samples (c. 2 kg) and eventual Mars samples are returned, this platform is ready to immediately host the next wave of comparative research.

---

# How Has PolyU's Lunar Soil Research Chain Extended from "Building Tools" to "Doing Science"?

For the past three decades, PolyU's relationship with the national space programme was primarily that of a "device contributor"—from camera pointing systems to surface sampling and sealing systems, all involved developing critical payloads for national probes using precision engineering. The acquisition of lunar soil in 2024 marks a significant turning point: PolyU is no longer just an "upstream equipment provider" but enters the core domain of lunar science directly as a "scientific analysis institution."

This turning point is backed by tangible material evidence: of the 442.6 mg of lunar soil acquired by PolyU, 400 mg of the surface scoop sample was collected by the Surface Sampling and Sealing System designed and built by PolyU itself—meaning this lunar soil bears PolyU's mark from the point of collection to the point of analysis. Yung Kai-leung calling this "special" is not just a sentimental expression, but a confirmation of the institution's evolving role.

On the academic output front, the RCDSE published a study in 2024^※ on the development of a "PolyU-1 lunar regolith simulant" based on Chang'e-5 lunar soil samples and remote sensing imagery (published in the International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, Vol. 34). This provides a standard reference material for international lunar surface engineering experiments and ISRU technology development—one of the first outcomes turning PolyU's sample research into reusable scientific tools.

Concurrently, with the participation of Wu Bo's team, the RCDSE has published research in the Science Bulletin on glass globules in Chang'e-4 far-side samples, and in Nature Astronomy (2021) on carbonaceous chondrite impactor material at the Chang'e-4 landing site—establishing a sustained voice in the international academic circle on lunar sample science.

---

# What Plans Does the RCDSE Have for Chang'e-8 and the Lunar Research Station?

In October 2024, Wu Bo was appointed Associate Director of a new InnoHK Lunar Surface Robotics Research Centre, a consortium led by HKUST and involving multiple Hong Kong universities and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. The centre will develop a multifunctional lunar surface operation robot and a mobile charging station for the Chang'e-8 mission^※. Chang'e-8, expected to launch around 2028, is a preliminary technology validation mission for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

The RCDSE website also clearly identifies lunar resource utilisation as a long-term strategic objective: "The research will provide crucial pathways towards solving energy shortages (mining lunar helium-3), mitigating climate change, and discovering new minerals and materials." Helium-3 is an ideal fuel for nuclear fusion, and the lunar poles may also hold vast quantities of water ice—creating a natural narrative link between the RCDSE's fundamental scientific research and a longer-term energy strategy.

Yung Kai-leung has told the media that the team "looks forward to continuing to contribute to the nation in the coming years," identifying the crewed lunar landing before 2030 and a Mars sample return as the next major milestones. With a dual-core layout spanning surveying and mapping (Wu Bo) and precision engineering (Yung Kai-leung), PolyU has established a sustainable research capability across three tiers: planetary remote sensing for site selection, instrument development, and sample analysis.

---