BTS's 'Dynamite' Sent from Space 1.28 Million km to Earth

Korea's First Lunar Probe Danuri
Successful Space Internet Transmission and Gamma Ray Measurement Experiment
3rd Trajectory Correction Maneuver Success, Cruising

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "~~~♪~Dynamite~♬." On the 28th of last month, radio waves transmitted from approximately 1.28 million km in outer space were transformed into a song by BTS, the representative K-POP star of the Korean Wave, and resonated on Earth. It was the first moment Korea succeeded in space internet communication.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 7th that Korea's first lunar probe, Danuri, successfully transmitted BTS's music video and video and photo data of the Earth-Moon orbit on August 25 and October 28, achieving a successful performance test of the space internet payload.

The space internet payload on Danuri (developed by ETRI) was developed to verify data transmission in the space environment, where communication is frequently interrupted, unlike on Earth. ETRI, together with KARI and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), conducted two performance verification tests of the space internet payload on August 25 (approximately 1.21 million km distance) and October 28 (approximately 1.28 million km distance), successfully transmitting data such as videos and photos (BTS's Dynamite, photos of ETRI researchers, etc.). This performance verification test is significant because it was conducted at a distance more than three times the mission's communication distance (approximately 380,000 km).

Unlike terrestrial internet, the space internet payload divides data for transmission, and the data was relayed through communication relay devices (nodes) of NASA and KARI before being delivered to ETRI. Terrestrial internet has high communication reliability, so data is not separately stored at nodes, reducing the risk of data loss. However, space internet requires processing to store data at nodes due to frequent communication interruptions.

Photos of the Earth-Moon orbit and the Moon passing in front of the Earth, taken by Danuri, were also released. Danuri used a high-resolution camera (developed by KARI) to capture the Moon's orbit once daily for a month starting September 15. On September 24, it took 15 photos vividly capturing the Moon passing in front of the Earth. The first Earth-Moon photo released in September (taken on August 26) captured only a moment, but these photos show the process of the Moon orbiting and passing the Earth.

Another payload on Danuri, the gamma-ray spectrometer (developed by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources), was confirmed to be operating normally. The gamma-ray spectrometer collected gamma-ray observation data every 10 seconds during the Earth-Moon transit period and observed a gamma-ray burst (GRB221009A) caused by a supernova explosion forming a black hole at 10:21 and 10:25 PM on the 9th of last month, transmitting the results. This gamma-ray burst was simultaneously observed in the US and Europe. It is significant as the first gamma-ray burst phenomenon related to black hole formation observed by humanity.

Meanwhile, Danuri performed its third trajectory correction maneuver around 11 AM on the 2nd to correct errors during the Earth-Moon transit. KARI confirmed on the 4th at 2 PM, after about two days of tracking and analyzing Danuri's trajectory, that the third trajectory correction maneuver was successfully executed. Danuri changed its course for the third time following maneuvers on August 7 and September 2. Currently, Danuri is traveling toward the Moon at a speed of 0.54 km/s from a distance of about 1.05 million km from Earth (cumulative travel distance of 2.66 million km). It plans to travel approximately 6 million km by December 17, arrive at lunar orbit, decelerate, and enter its lunar mission orbit by the end of December. From January 2023, it will orbit 100 km above the Moon for one year to carry out scientific and technological missions (such as landing site candidates and lunar magnetic field observations).

Kwon Hyun-jun, Director of Large-scale Public Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “Danuri is navigating normally toward the Moon. We ask for the public’s great interest and support so that Danuri can settle into lunar orbit by the end of December this year and welcome the New Year on the Moon next year.”

The videos sent by Danuri (BTS's Dynamite) and the Earth-Moon orbit photos can be viewed on the Danuri website.

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