Danuri Trajectory Correction Maneuver Successful Confirmed... "Now Straight to the Moon"

KARI Reveals on the Afternoon of the 4th

On the afternoon of the 3rd, employees of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute are checking the success of the trajectory correction of the lunar exploration orbiter Danuri.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on the 4th that the trajectory correction of the lunar exploration orbiter Danuri, conducted around 5 p.m. on the 2nd, was successfully completed.

KARI initially planned to confirm the final results of the second trajectory correction maneuver around 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 4, after approximately 48 hours of orbit data analysis. However, the final success was confirmed around 6 p.m. on the 3rd, about 25 hours after the maneuver. KARI explained that the reason for confirming the final results faster than expected was "because the orbit data after the second trajectory correction maneuver closely matched the predictions, in addition to the analysis experience from the first trajectory correction maneuver." They added, "With the successful execution of the second trajectory correction maneuver, the originally planned next trajectory correction maneuver (scheduled for the 16th) will be omitted."

Earlier, the Danuri control team at KARI conducted a trajectory correction maneuver on the 2nd at the Lagrange Point 1, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth, turning Danuri’s direction from the Sun toward Earth. This was an essential process to minimize fuel consumption necessary for Earth-Moon navigation and to ensure timely arrival at the Moon according to the mission schedule.

Launched on the 5th of last month, Danuri had been heading toward the Sun propelled by the momentum of escaping Earth’s gravitational sphere. After arriving at the Lagrange Point 1, where Earth’s and Sun’s gravitational forces balance and fuel consumption for direction change is minimal, Danuri turned toward Earth. It will then continue its journey for about 3.5 more months to reach the Moon, where it will be captured by lunar gravity and enter orbit. The goal is to enter lunar orbit on December 17 and settle into the target orbit approximately 100 km above the lunar surface around December 31 or January 1 of next year.

Danuri is equipped with NASA’s permanently shadowed region camera (ShadowCam), Korea’s independently developed magnetometer and gamma-ray detector, wide-field polarization camera, high-resolution camera, and space internet equipment, and will operate in lunar orbit for one year. It will explore the presence of water and terrain in the lunar south pole region, aiding in the selection of Artemis lunar landing sites. Danuri will achieve world-first objectives such as creating a full lunar map using polarization imaging, experimenting with deep space communication standard technology, and investigating the lunar surface’s terrain, geology, and resource distribution.

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