SEOUL • South Korea has set off for the Moon, but it does not want to stop there.
“We are also considering using the Moon as an outpost for space exploration,” Mr Kwon Hyun-joon, director-general of space and nuclear energy at South Korea’s Ministry of Science, said in a written response to questions. “Although we hope to explore the Moon itself, we also recognise its potential to act as a base for further deep space exploration such as Mars and beyond.”
South Korea’s lunar spacecraft, named Danuri, was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida in the United States on Thursday, setting out on a roundabout but fuel-efficient path that would have it arriving at the Moon in mid-December. There, it would begin an orbit at an altitude of 100km above the Moon’s surface.
The main mission is scheduled to last for one year.
Originally known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, the mission was given the name Danuri after it became the winning entry in a naming contest. It is a portmanteau of the Korean words for “moon” and “enjoy”.
This story is from the August 07, 2022 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the August 07, 2022 edition of The Straits Times.
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