Smooth Launch of Korean Lunar Orbiter... World’s First Polarization Imaging on the Moon Surface

Ministry of Science and ICT: "Preparation is progressing steadily... No issues with launch in August next year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Preparations for the launch of the first-ever Korean lunar orbiter (KPLO), scheduled for August next year, are progressing smoothly. KPLO is expected to play a crucial role in lunar exploration history by acting as the vanguard for humanity's second lunar landing effort and conducting precise lunar surface surveys through the world's first polarization imaging.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 1st, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), responsible for the launch operations, received the main body’s primary structure last October, and the propulsion module is scheduled to be developed and delivered by June. Five domestically developed payloads have been completed and delivered, while one payload developed by NASA is completed and awaiting delivery. The deep space ground station, which will receive launch data from KPLO, completed installation of the largest 35m-class antenna in Korea last November and is on track to be fully operational within this year.

After assembly and testing of KPLO, KARI plans to launch it into lunar orbit aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in August next year. Lee Chang-yoon, Director of the Large-scale Public Research Policy Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "The development of Korea’s first lunar orbiter is steadily progressing toward the August launch despite various challenges," adding, "The achievements of the Korean lunar orbiter will contribute not only to Korea’s first space exploration achievements but also to the success of the U.S. manned lunar exploration program."

ShadowCam, a shading camera mounted on the KPLO being developed by NASA.

KPLO is equipped with NASA’s ShadowCam, which will serve as the vanguard for the Artemis project?a second lunar landing initiative led by the U.S. and about ten other countries targeting 2024. This camera can capture high-resolution images of permanently shadowed regions, enabling the observation of the lunar poles where ice is presumed to exist. NASA plans to select Artemis landing sites based on this data. To support this, NASA selected nine Korean scientists last December to participate in lunar exploration. South Korea and the U.S. plan to continue international cooperation by jointly utilizing exploration results even after the KPLO’s mission ends post-2024.

Additionally, KPLO carries the wide-field polarization camera (PolCam) developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, which will capture polarization images of the lunar surface for the first time worldwide and create a titanium map. Polarization imaging is expected to play a significant role in studying space weathering caused by micrometeorite impacts, solar wind, and high-energy cosmic rays on the lunar surface. The high-resolution camera (LUTI) developed by KARI onboard KPLO will observe the lunar surface with a maximum resolution of under 5 meters and a positional error of 225 meters. KARI plans to use this data to identify candidate landing sites for Korea’s independent lunar landing mission scheduled for 2030.

Measurements of subtle magnetic fields around the Moon will also be conducted. The magnetometer (KMAG) developed by Kyung Hee University will contribute to research on the Moon’s uniquely distributed magnetic anomaly regions and lunar space environment. Furthermore, the gamma-ray spectrometer (KGRS) developed by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources will collect gamma-ray data from the lunar surface to produce maps of more than five lunar elements. It will explore helium-3, a clean energy source, water and oxygen essential for sustaining life, and construction materials that could be used for lunar base construction. The space internet (DTN) verifier developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute will test space internet communication technology between Earth and the lunar orbiter, including message and file transmission and real-time video streaming.

The lunar orbiter launch project has been underway since 2016 with a budget of approximately 225.5 billion KRW, aiming to advance space technology through lunar exploration based on satellite technology at the level of advanced countries and the development of a Korean launch vehicle. The project faced challenges such as an increase in orbiter weight by 128 kg, which led to budget increases and orbital changes, but it has now been normalized.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.