Completion of Key Korean Equipment for Private Lunar Exploration Scheduled for Launch Next Year

Artemis CLPS Program Nova-C Lander Main Thruster
KASI-Kyung Hee University-Setrec Eye Joint Development and Production
High-Energy Particle Measurement Mission on the Lunar Surface

Following South Korea's first lunar probe Danuri, another lunar observation instrument has been completed and is now preparing for launch next year.

Shape of Nova-C and LUSEM payloads. Image source: Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) announced on the 4th that the development of the Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM) payload, which will participate in NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch next year, has been completed and the payload has begun being transported to the United States.

LUSEM is a payload developed by KASI as part of its participation in NASA's CLPS program to promote international lunar exploration joint research. The CLPS program is a subprogram of the United States' Artemis program. It provides launch vehicles to send privately developed payloads to the Moon to promote private lunar exploration and commercial development.

KASI plans to develop four types of scientific payloads to be mounted on the lander. LUSEM is a sensor capable of detecting high-energy particles above 50 kilo-electron volts (50 keV). It was developed by KASI in collaboration with Professor Seonho Jeon’s research team from Kyung Hee University’s Department of Space Science and manufactured by the domestic company Satrec Initiative. Unlike the Earth's surface, the lunar surface is not protected by an atmosphere or Earth's magnetic field, so high-energy particles coming from deep space are directly detected there. High-energy particles can affect astronauts' health, the electronic functions, structure, and strength of spacecraft, and are also important for scientific research such as space weathering on airless celestial bodies. Therefore, the need for research on high-energy particles has been continuously raised for future manned deep space exploration and space science research.

LUSEM will be mounted on Nova-C, the most important unmanned lunar lander for the first CLPS mission next year. Nova-C will land in the low-latitude 'Reiner Gamma' region on the near side of the Moon. Its missions include space environment observation through LUSEM, surface terrain observation, local magnetic field measurement, deployment of cooperative autonomous distributed rovers, and placement of laser retroreflectors.

Nova-c and LUSEM landing sites. Image source: Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT

LUSEM consists of a sensor unit, an electronics unit, and cables connecting the two devices. The sensor unit is the main equipment for observing high-energy particles and is composed of two detectors capable of bidirectional observation, upward and downward. Each pair of detectors detects electrons on one side and protons on the other. The detector facing upward detects particles coming from space, while the detector facing downward detects particles reflected from the lunar surface to analyze the differences between them. The electronics unit controls the sensor unit, processes signals, and supplies power.

After being packed for air transport on this day, LUSEM will be moved to the United States. It will first be loaded onto a vibration-free vehicle, depart from Daejeon, arrive at Incheon Airport, and then be air-transported to Intuitive Machines located in Houston, Texas. Subsequently, under NASA's supervision, KASI will install LUSEM on Nova-C by early next year. The team plans to conduct interface tests with the lander and functional tests in preparation for launch, aiming for a launch at the end of next year via SpaceX's Falcon 9.

KASI also plans to complete other instruments including the Lunar Surface Magnetometer (LSMAG), the Lunar Regolith 3D Imaging Camera (GrainCams), and the Lunar Surface Radiation Detector (LVRAD) in the future.

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