A series of public activities were launched in Macao on Tuesday to popularize knowledge about China's space, marine and polar explorations.

The Science and Technology Serial Activities in Macao are jointly organized by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR and the China National Space Administration.

The 12-day activities include the Second Macao Space Development Forum, a themed exhibition at the Macao Science Center, several space industry seminars and lectures at local schools.

A major feature of the activities is that a small amount of lunar samples, retrieved by China's Chang'e 5 robotic mission in December 2020, are on display at the exhibition, which shows many Chinese carrier rockets, spacecrafts, ships and submersibles. This marks the first time any lunar samples have been brought to Macao for public display.

At the opening ceremony of the activities on Tuesday morning, Li Guoping, chief engineer at the China National Space Administration, said the mainland will continue to share the country's accomplishments in space, marine and polar explorations with Macao people. He hoped more researchers from Macao could take part and more youngsters in the region could gain knowledge and be inspired by such achievements.

Tai Kin Ip, director of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau of the Macao SAR, said the activities represent the close cooperation between Macao and the mainland in science and technology research, academic exchange and public education.

He believes that under the support from the Macao government and space administration, space professionals from both sides will continue to work together to bring about more scientific and technological advances, train more researchers and engage in more international cooperation projects.