Lai Ka-ying, set to become Hong Kong's first astronaut, is described as meticulous, patient, and a skilled communicator by her former professor. These qualities are deemed essential for a space mission.

If you are working on a space station orbiting hundreds of kilometres above the Earth, the woman set to become Hong Kong’s first astronaut when the mission launches this weekend is exactly the type of person you want by your side, according to the professor who supervised her postgraduate studies. Lai Ka-ying was meticulous, patient and a skilled communicator who could break down highly technical ideas for others, Chow Kam-pui, an honorary associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, told...