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| Seen is an image of the moon's Hermite-A crater taken by Danuri's high-resolution camera on July 9. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Danuri or Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KLPO) unveiled photos of the moon, including exotic craters, to mark the first anniversary of its launch from Earth on August 5, 2022, to orbit the moon and conduct scientific research, the science ministry said Monday.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) held a ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary and released images of the moon taken by Danuri's cameras.
The photos include images of Hermite-A Crater, which is expected to contain large amounts of ice, taken by a high-resolution camera, and Sverdrup Crater, a permanently shadowed area on the moon's South Pole, taken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ShadowCam equipment.
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| Seen is a photo of Sverdrup Crater on the Moon taken by Danuri's ShadowCam equipment on Feb. 16. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT |
"Danuri was launched at 8:08 a.m., Friday, August 5, last year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, U.S., and finally succeeded in entering the lunar mission orbit on December 27, 2022, following a 145-day Earth-moon voyage," the ministry said.
"Korea became the world's seventh country to launch and operate a lunar orbiter and to realize various scientific and technological achievements, including the country's first photo of Earth and the moon and the world's first transmission of video and photo data through the space internet," the ministry added.
The country's first lunar orbiter began its mission on Feb. 4 and has been conducting various assignments, including an exploration of the area around the lunar landing site, science research and space internet technology verification.
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| Seen is a photo of Humboldt Crater on the Moon taken by Danuri's high-resolution camera on July 27. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT |
Danuri was scheduled to end its mission in January 2023, but the science ministry and KARI decided to extend the exploration period to December 2025, because the lunar orbiter consumed less fuel than expected while traveling from the Earth to the moon.
"In December, Danuri will send photos of lunar landing sites, a map of the five lunar elements and a map of the lunar radiation environment to celebrate the first anniversary of the beginning of its mission," the ministry said.
The ministry and KARI also held a space symposium, shedding light on the value and the need for Korea's space exploration program. To establish a vision and strategy for the country's exploration of space, the symposium shared various opinions such as the demand for scientific research and technological development related to space exploration.
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