South Korea's Lunar Lander Development Project Shows 'Green Light'... Scheduled for Launch in 2032

Moon Exploration Phase 2 Project Passes Preliminary Feasibility Study
Establishing Self-Propulsion Capability for Entire Space Exploration Process

The third launch of the Korean-type launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II), developed with domestic proprietary technology.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The lunar exploration lander development project has passed the preliminary feasibility study. Attention is focused on whether by 2032 we will be able to see a lunar lander made with our technology roaming the moon.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong-ho) announced on the 1st that the "Lunar Exploration Phase 2 (Lunar Lander Development) Project" has passed the preliminary feasibility study by the National Research and Development Project Evaluation Committee, with a development period of 10 years (2024?2033) and a total project cost of 530.3 billion KRW.

The Lunar Exploration Phase 2 project applied for the preliminary feasibility study in September last year, was selected as a target in October of the same year, and passed after about a year, allowing the main project to proceed.

The Lunar Exploration Phase 2 (Lunar Lander Development) project is an R&D project to independently develop a 1.8-ton class lunar lander for lunar surface exploration, to be launched by the next-generation launch vehicle by 2032, performing soft landing on the lunar surface and scientific and technological missions.

Prior to the lunar lander, a lunar soft-landing verification vehicle (to be launched in 2031) performing soft-landing missions and the lunar lander (to be launched in 2032), which will perform lunar surface soft-landing missions as well as lunar surface exploration missions, will also be developed.

The lunar lander will be launched independently using Korea's next-generation launch vehicle. It is significant that the entire process from launch, Earth-moon navigation, lunar surface landing, to exploration will be carried out independently.

During this lunar lander development process, core technologies for propulsion systems, the heart of space probes, and soft-landing (such as obstacle detection and avoidance technology, navigation systems, etc.) will be domestically produced to secure truly independent lunar exploration capabilities.

The government plans to establish and finalize a space exploration roadmap through consultation with relevant experts regarding the scientific and technological missions the lunar lander will perform on the lunar surface after landing. Based on this, a call for proposals for lunar lander payloads will be promoted, and payload development will be pursued by early 2025.

Jo Seon-hak, Director of the Large Public Research Policy Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "Following the next-generation launch vehicle project, with the Lunar Exploration Phase 2 project passing the preliminary feasibility study, an opportunity has been created for Korea to leap forward as a space technology powerhouse capable of independently conducting the entire space exploration process from launch to lunar landing and exploration."

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