Korea's First Lunar Probe Danuri Sends Chuseok Greetings

Apollo 17 and 11 Landing Sites, Front View Photos of Earth Released

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) revealed photos taken by Danuri, Korea's first lunar exploration orbiter, on the 26th to celebrate Chuseok, the traditional Korean holiday marked by a bright full moon.

Earth photographed from the lunar orbit by Korea's first lunar exploration orbiter, Danuri, on the 15th. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute

The first and second photos show high-resolution camera images captured by Danuri on March 30 and May 10, respectively, from its lunar mission orbit (approximately 100 km above the moon), depicting the landing sites of Apollo 17 and Apollo 11. Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon, and Apollo 17 was the last manned spacecraft to land there. Additionally, a full Earth photo taken by Danuri on the 15th, aimed at Earth from its lunar mission orbit, was also released.

KARI continuously shares observational data from Danuri through its official website. Starting from this day, the service has been improved to allow users to check Danuri’s real-time location orbiting the moon even on mobile devices.

Apollo 17 landing site photographed by Danuri, Korea's first lunar exploration orbiter. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT is running a “Full Moon Photography Challenge” event on its Instagram account from the 25th to the 30th. This is to support Danuri, which is diligently performing its mission while orbiting the moon during the Chuseok holiday. Participants who take photos of the full moon using an augmented reality (AR) filter featuring Danuri’s image will be entered into a drawing to receive small prizes.

Danuri, Korea’s first lunar orbiter, entered its lunar mission orbit on December 27 of last year and, after about a month of commissioning, has been performing its mission normally since February 4.

Apollo 11 landing site photographed by Danuri. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

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