Posted: 14:16, August 5, 2022 | Updated: 15:41, August 5, 2022
South Korea’s first mission to the moon is underway after the country’s maiden lunar orbiter was blasted into orbit by a SpaceX rocket. The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, nicknamed Danuri – meaning “enjoy the moon” – launched into space atop a Falcon 9 booster. In a landmark moment that sets the scene for Seoul’s most ambitious lunar efforts on the way, the orbiter lifted off from the US Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 19:08 ET on Thursday (00:08 BST on Friday ). South Korea aims to eventually land a probe on the moon by 2030 and joins a number of other countries planning new missions to the lunar surface, including the US, Russia and China. The $180m (£148m) Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) will enter lunar orbit in December before embarking on a year-long observing mission. Take off: South Korea launches first moon mission after blasting country’s maiden lunar orbiter into orbit on SpaceX rocket The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, nicknamed Danuri – meaning ‘enjoy the moon’ – launched into space atop a Falcon 9 booster
HOW SOUTH KOREA ENTERED THE NEW SPACE RACE
Until just over two months ago, South Korea relied on other countries to carry its satellites, with most of the rocket launches coming from the US, Russia, China, Japan, France and India.
That changed with the successful launch of the three-stage Nuri missile on June 21.
This delivered a £357 working satellite into an orbit 435 miles above Earth.
The rocket also launched a 1.3-tonne dummy satellite and four small cube satellites developed by universities for space research.
It brought the country closer to its dream of becoming a new player in the space industry, after it was late to the race due to a Cold War-era agreement with the US that barred it from developing a space program.
This will include searching for a landing site, testing space internet technology and detecting rare elements on the moon, South Korea’s science ministry said.
If successful, the nation will become the seventh lunar explorer in the world and the fourth in Asia, behind China, Japan and India.
KPLO’s lunar arrival will come about a month after NASA’s tiny CAPSTONE probe, which launched in late June and is also on a circular path to Earth’s only natural satellite.
The 1,495-pound (678-kilogram) South Korean orbiter separated from the SpaceX rocket about 40 minutes after liftoff and later began communicating with a ground station.
“Analysis of the information received confirmed … Danuri was operating normally,” Vice Minister of Science Oh Tae-seog said in a briefing, announcing that the orbiter was on a lunar trajectory.
The spacecraft has six science instruments, five of them indigenous and one, called ShadowCam, provided by NASA.
This will hunt for water ice in permanently shadowed lunar craters.
Measurements from an orbiter magnetometer could also help scientists better understand the Moon’s residual magnetic field.
The launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was delayed due to a maintenance issue with the SpaceX rocket.
In June, South Korea successfully launched its first satellites into orbit in what was also considered a historic step in its space program.
Both developments bring the country closer to its dream of becoming a new player in the space industry, having been delayed in the race by a Cold War-era agreement with the US that barred it from developing a space program.
The $180m (£148m) Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (pictured) will enter lunar orbit in December before embarking on a year-long observing mission
The three-stage Nuri rocket, built by the government’s Korea Aerospace Research Institute along with hundreds of local companies, was launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, about 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of Seoul.
Space launches have long been a sensitive issue on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea faces international sanctions over its nuclear ballistic missile program.
In March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asked to expand its launch site to advance its space ambitions after South Korea and the US accused it of testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile under the guise of a spacecraft launch .
South Korea says its space program is for peaceful and scientific purposes and any military use of the technology, such as in spy satellites, is for its defense.
In June, South Korea successfully launched its first satellites into orbit in what was also seen as a historic step in its space program (pictured)
