Jean-Pierre Williams, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and another scientist on the Danuri mission, hopes to create detailed temperature maps of the craters by combining the ShadowCam images with data collected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The NASA orbiter, which has been studying the moon since 2009, carries an instrument that records lunar surface temperatures. But these measurements are fuzzy over a fairly large area, about 900 feet wide. The resolution of a ShadowCam is about 5 feet per pixel. Thus, ShadowCam images used in conjunction with computer models may make it possible to detect surface temperature variations. “With this data we can map regional and seasonal temperatures,” Dr Williams said. This, in turn, can help scientists understand the stability of the water and carbon dioxide ices in the crater. Researchers will have to wait several months for the science to begin. The spacecraft follows a long, energy-efficient path to the moon. It first heads toward the sun, then turns back to be captured in lunar orbit on December 16. This “ballistic trajectory” takes longer, but does not require a large engine firing to slow the spacecraft down when it reaches the moon. South Korea has an extensive military missile program and has placed several communications and Earth observation satellites into low-Earth orbit since it launched its first in 1992. And it is expanding its domestic missile launch capabilities so that future missions don’t have to rely on SpaceX, or other countries, to get to space. In June, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute successfully placed several satellites into orbit on the second flight of Nuri, its domestic rocket. “We will undertake challenging projects such as moon landing and asteroid exploration,” Mr Kwon said. Jin Yu Young contributed reporting from Seoul.