The South Korean lunar probe is set to reach the moon some time in December.
South Korea has just launched its home-grown lunar orbiter with the help of Space's 549-ton Falcon 9 rocket. The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter was developed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute and was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:07 p.m. on Thursday and successfully separated from the rocket just 45 minutes later.
Bloomberg reported that the lunar orbiter, which was nicknamed Danuri, a term that means moon and enjoy in Korean language, will establish communication with ground control before entering its planned trajectory about five to six hours after its launch. Danuri will then have to travel for four months and two weeks before entering the orbit of the moon to begin its mission in December, the science ministry statement said.
South Korea Lunar Orbiter Launch Marks the Country's First Deep-space Mission
The launch of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) is one for the history books as it is the first deep-space mission for South Korea, who is now the seventh country to join the competitive race to return to the moon. It also sets up the country for more ambitious space efforts in the near future.
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) officials said that the lunar orbiter's launch upon a SpaceX rocket is "the first step for ensuring and verifying [South Korea's] capability of space exploration," Space.com reported. South Korea intends to conduct a robotic moon landing by 2030, if all plans commence smoothly.
KARI said that moon exploration, which has begun through this week's launch of South Korea's lunar orbiter, will enhance the space technologies of the country and increase its value while stimulating pride in their people. Upon entering lunar orbit in mid-December, Danuri will have a circular orbit and will stay just 100 kilometers above the moon's surface.
Meanwhile, the SpaceX rocket's two stages separated 2.5 minutes after it launched and went into separate directions. The first stage arrived at a pinpoint landing on the SpaceX drone ship "Just Read the Instructions" just nine minutes after it took off, marking the sixth touchdown for the booster. The second stage was the one that carried Danuri into the sky, deploying it into a ballistic lunar transfer orbit 40 minutes after it left the Earth.
What is the Mission of South Korea's Lunar Orbiter?
The Danuri mission has come with a $180 million price tag and is primarily concerned with demonstrating technologies required to reach and explore the moon. But South Korea's lunar orbiter will do more than just research as it circles the moon.
The fascinating Danuri spacecraft weighs 1,495 pounds or 678 kilograms and is equipped with six science instruments, five of which were built in South Korea and one called ShadowCam provided by NASA. Together, these instruments will gather a lot of data during a mission that is set to last at least 12 months.
Danuri is now tasked to search for possible landing sites on the moon and conduct a test space wireless Internet connection. Once it does, it is set to play BTS' smash hit "Dynamite" from the moon. KARI president Sang-Ryool Lee described the mission as "a very significant milestone in the history of Korean space exploration" and expressed hope in reaching "Mars, asteroids, and so on" in the near future.
