The Science Center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope

The survey telescope of the Chinese Space Station project is a key scientific project in the third stage of China's three-step manned spaceflight strategy. This telescope has the advantages of a large field of view, good image quality, and full spectral band coverage. Its optical module flies in a co-orbital manner with the Chinese Space Station, which is convenient for maintenance and upgrading, representing an international innovation. The scientific objectives of the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope cover major scientific issues such as "two dark matters, one black hole, and three origins". It is expected to obtain photometric data of billions of stars and galaxies and billions of spectral lines during its 10-year operation period, and is likely to achieve significant scientific breakthroughs.

In order to fully explore the scientific research capabilities of the survey telescope of the Chinese Space Station project, the China Manned Space Engineering Office has mobilized and integrated the forces of the Chinese astronomical community, and established four science centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhuhai. Among them, the Science Center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area established in Zhuhai is undertaken by the School of Physics and Astronomy of Sun Yat-sen University, which will shoulder the heavy responsibility of integrating the astronomical research teams in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region and southern China.

The Science Center of the Greater Bay Area was officially established in September 2019. The center has united universities with advantageous astronomy disciplines in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and surrounding areas, such as the University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Macau University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou University, Xiamen University, Guangxi University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, South China University of Technology, South China Normal University, etc. It gives full play to the potential of universities, economic advantages, and geographical advantages of the Greater Bay Area, playing an important role in attracting talents, promoting scientific research development, and radiating influence outward.

The Science Center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area takes the lead in the research of planetary science for space telescopes and widely participates in multiple research topics such as cosmology, galaxies and active galactic nuclei, stellar and planetary sciences, compact stars and gravitational wave sources, and space experimental technologies. More than 200 people from the Greater Bay Area Center are involved in scientific research projects, including 16 senior scientific research talents such as recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Changjiang Scholars, and recipients of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars.