[Danuri Launch] Korea's First Space Exploration Guides Humanity's Lunar Advancement

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] South Korea's first lunar probe, 'Danuri (KPLO),' was successfully launched on the morning of the 5th. There is still a journey of four and a half months ahead to reach the Moon. Danuri plays the pioneering role in Korean space exploration and also holds the important responsibility as a guide for humanity's second lunar landing project. 'Danuri Launch'

With the launch of Danuri, South Korea has become one of the few countries to enter all three major areas of space development: satellites, launch vehicles, and exploration. Starting with the small scientific experimental satellite 'UriByul 1' launched in 1993, South Korea has grown into a satellite technology powerhouse capable of producing medium to large high-performance satellites such as Cheollian and Arirang satellites. Thanks to the successful second launch of Nuri on June 21, South Korea also joined the ranks of countries possessing launch vehicles. However, South Korea had no prior experience in space exploration. Globally, only space powers such as the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Europe, and India have achievements in all three major areas. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which succeeded in Mars exploration in February and was said to have caught up with South Korea's technology, still does not have a launch vehicle. With the launch of Danuri, South Korea has become the seventh country in the world to join the lunar exploration nations. Moreover, it is also pursuing a lunar landing exploration mission by 2030.

In particular, if Danuri successfully completes its mission, South Korea will play the vanguard role in humanity's lunar pioneering efforts. Danuri plans to first confirm the presence of water, which is the most urgent requirement for humanity's lunar advancement. Although water components were confirmed on the Moon through impact experiments by India's Chandrayaan satellite in 2008, the actual presence of water has not yet been revealed. By photographing the lunar polar regions with the permanently shadowed region camera (ShadowCam) developed by NASA, it is anticipated that water frozen in caves, canyons, or crustal cracks may be revealed to humanity. If water is discovered, oxygen supply sources can be secured and it can be used as energy, enabling the construction of bases where humans can reside long-term. Additionally, through Korean-made equipment such as the wide-field polarization camera onboard Danuri, detailed terrain and resource distribution across the Moon can be identified.

Until now, Korean scientists had to beg for data from foreign agencies like NASA to study the Moon, but now they have a great opportunity to 'show generosity' to global scientists.

The Moon lost human interest for a while after the U.S. Apollo projects in the 1960s and 70s. However, since the 2000s, with advances in science and technology reducing space launch costs and deep space exploration such as lunar resource extraction and Mars colonization becoming humanity's focus, global interest in the Moon has surged again. Especially, India's confirmation of water presence in the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon in October 2008 marked the official restart of lunar exploration. China ignited interest by consecutively sending Chang'e 3 in 2013 and Chang'e 4 in 2018, landing on the far side of the Moon, and then successfully returning samples with Chang'e 5 in December 2019.

The United States is promoting the Artemis program, which aims to build a lunar base through international cooperation and establish the 'Lunar Gateway,' a second international space station. According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), there are 18 major lunar exploration plans scheduled after this year, including South Korea's lunar lander launch planned for 2030. This 'return to the Moon' by humanity is driven above all by 'curiosity.' Experts say that without curiosity, humanity would not have discovered the American continent, and that space exploration is essential for a sustainable and challenging future. Furthermore, the Moon can be used as an intermediate base as deep space exploration such as Mars becomes more active. It can significantly reduce the burden on launch vehicles overcoming Earth's gravity, thus lowering the cost of space exploration. Depending on future technological developments, resource extraction such as helium-3, known to be abundant on the Moon, and energy production like space solar power plants may become feasible. In the long term, the construction of colonies with large populations residing on the Moon is also anticipated.