"Clear Lunar Crater"…Why Are Danuri's Moon Photos in Black and White?

KARI Releases Additional Photos of Earth and Moon Surfaces
"Black-and-White Design Chosen Considering High-Resolution Imaging Goals"

Earth and the lunar surface photographed by Danuri from 117 km above the moon on the first day of the Year of the Black Rabbit. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Danuri, South Korea's first lunar exploration orbiter, which successfully entered lunar orbit at the end of last year, has begun normal mission operations, including transmitting Earth and Moon photos taken during the year-end and New Year period.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) on the 3rd released Earth-Moon photos taken by Danuri on December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2023, the first day of the Year of the Rabbit. The released footage includes images captured at 4:10 PM on December 31, 2022, at an altitude of 119 km above the Moon, and at 3:54 PM on January 1, 2023, at an altitude of 117 km above the Moon. The high resolution clearly shows the Moon's deeply indented craters.

This footage was taken by the high-resolution camera (LUTI) onboard Danuri. It will continuously capture the lunar surface in the future to assist in selecting landing candidate sites for the lunar lander planned for 2032. LUTI was designed to shoot in black and white, considering its mission objective to photograph the lunar surface.

Earth and the lunar surface photographed by Danuri at 119 km above the moon on December 31, 2022. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Danuri was launched in early August from Cape Canaveral Space Center, Florida, USA, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. After about 4.5 months of navigation, it arrived in lunar orbit around the 17th of last month. Following approximately five engine firings to be captured by the Moon's gravity, it successfully settled into its target mission orbit at 100 km above the lunar surface on the 27th of last month. Currently, performance verification of onboard instruments and error adjustments are underway. Starting in February, it will carry out full-scale scientific and technological missions, including lunar scientific research (lunar surface imaging, polarization imaging, permanently shadowed region imaging, and magnetic field and gamma-ray observations) and space internet technology verification.

In particular, the permanently shadowed region camera (ShadowCam) developed by NASA will play a key role in selecting landing sites for the Artemis manned lunar landing project scheduled after 2025.

The Earth captured by Danuri on the first day of the Year of the Black Rabbit from 117 km above the moon. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute