[Danuri Launch] 140-Day Journey to the Moon Begins... Two Major Challenges Remain (Comprehensive)

Launched on the morning of the 5th, communication succeeded after 1 hour 40 minutes
Key challenges remain including September 'U-turn' and December lunar gravity capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Danuri, South Korea's first lunar probe, was successfully launched and embarked on a 140-day journey to the Moon. 'Danuri Launch'

Danuri was launched at 8:08 a.m. (Korean time) from Launch Pad 40 at the U.S. Space Force base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Normal flight proceeded with first stage separation 2 minutes and 34 seconds after launch. Notably, about 40 minutes after launch, at an altitude of approximately 700 km, Danuri successfully separated from the Falcon 9 rocket, which had completed its flight. Around 9:40 a.m., communication was established with the ground station at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in Daejeon.

KARI plans to check Danuri's status and verify whether it has entered the planned trajectory. KARI and the Ministry of Science and ICT will make a final confirmation of Danuri's normal navigation start and officially announce it at 2 p.m. that day.

Danuri will travel straight toward the Sun, then turn at the Lagrange Point 1 (approximately 1.56 million km) and return toward Earth, entering lunar orbit in a journey lasting about 140 days. This is because it adopted the ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) trajectory, the most difficult and longest route to the Moon. The biggest challenge will be whether it successfully makes a 'U-turn' toward Earth after reaching Lagrange Point 1 in September and whether it is captured by the Moon's gravity to join lunar orbit. To this end, KARI developed and installed an independent propulsion system capable of producing 30N thrust (1N is the force that accelerates a 1 kg object by 1 m/s). Additionally, it invested 23.8 billion KRW to build a deep space communication system including an antenna in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, and utilizes an international deep space communication network linked with NASA. In particular, by cooperating with NASA researchers, KARI acquired know-how necessary for maintaining communication with Danuri, which will be up to 1.56 million km away from Earth, as well as for fine control of speed, attitude, and direction.

Danuri was developed with a total investment of 236.7 billion KRW since 2016 for the purpose of advancing space exploration technology. Although South Korea has succeeded in developing launch vehicles (Nuri) as a satellite powerhouse, it has no prior space exploration achievements. Danuri weighs 687 kg, roughly the size of a small car. After entering a 100 km lunar orbit around the end of December this year, it will conduct various scientific missions for about one year. It is equipped with a wide-field polarization camera, high-resolution camera, magnetometer, gamma-ray spectrometer, space internet test equipment developed domestically, and NASA's ShadowCam, a camera for permanently shadowed regions. It will investigate the Moon's surface terrain, geological structure, and resource distribution more closely than any mission since the Apollo project.

In particular, NASA's ShadowCam will verify the presence of ice that may exist in the lunar polar regions. This information will be used for humanity's second lunar landing exploration and long-term base construction planned after 2025. South Korea's first space exploration mission will thus serve as a guide for humanity's expansion to the Moon.

If Danuri successfully enters lunar orbit and completes its mission by the end of the year, South Korea will become the seventh country to succeed in lunar exploration, following Russia, the United States, Japan, Europe, China, and India. It will also take the first step in 'deep space exploration,' which involves exploring beyond the Earth-Moon distance. Analysts suggest that this will allow South Korea to take the initiative in expanding its space domain, future international space cooperation, and lunar development.

Researcher Ahn Hyung-joon of the Science and Technology Policy Institute said, "Until now, the farthest object we have sent from Earth was a geostationary satellite at 36,000 km, but now we are extending our territory to the Moon's distance of 380,000 km." He added, "Sending a scientific exploration probe into space, rather than a satellite with clear economic or security purposes, indicates that the nation's level has risen enough to invest in basic science. South Korea is approaching the status of an advanced country capable of expanding humanity's knowledge in space."

Professor Heo Hwan-il of Chungnam National University's Department of Aerospace Engineering said, "If Danuri successfully completes its mission, it will have obtained an international driver's license necessary for international space exploration cooperation," adding, "As space exploration increasingly divides into camps and international cooperation becomes more important, South Korea will be recognized as a reliable space exploration partner."