[Reading Science] Foreign Media: "Korea Joins Moon Exploration Nations"... Praise for Danuri

Major Media Report Danuri Moon Orbit Insertion and Photo Transmission News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] There is significant interest overseas in the success of South Korea's first lunar probe, 'Danuri.'

The British daily newspaper Daily Mail published an article on the morning of the 3rd (local time) on its online edition, featuring photos of the lunar surface and Earth taken and transmitted by Danuri after it successfully entered its mission orbit 100 km above the Moon at the end of last month. The outlet titled the article "South Korea's first lunar orbiter Danuri has sent stunning black-and-white photos of the lunar surface and Earth," and evaluated that "South Korea has joined the ranks of lunar exploration countries in Asia as the fourth, following China, Japan, and India."

It also mentioned the simultaneous successes of the Nuri rocket launch and Danuri's lunar exploration in June, reporting that "South Korea is close to realizing its dream of becoming a new player in the space industry, which it had been unable to enter due to the United States' restrictions on space program development during the Cold War." The article compared South Korea's space development with North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development. The media stated, "Space launch vehicle development on the Korean Peninsula has been a sensitive issue as North Korea faces international sanctions for developing nuclear ballistic missiles," and added, "South Korea explains that its space development program is conducted for peaceful and scientific purposes, and that the use of military technologies such as reconnaissance satellites is for defensive purposes."

French media outlet France24 and major Chinese-language media Hong Kong South Morning Post (HSMP) also prominently covered the news of Danuri's transmission of lunar surface and Earth photos on the same morning, reporting on South Korea's lunar exploration success. Both media noted, "South Korea has announced ambitious space exploration plans, including sending a rover to Mars by 2045," and quoted President Yoon Suk-yeol welcoming it as a "historic moment for the space development program."

The space-specialized media Space.com featured Danuri's transmitted photos and related articles as its top online story on the 4th, offering congratulations. The outlet reported, "South Korea has joined the ranks of countries successful in lunar exploration alongside Japan, China, and India," and stated, "The photos sent by Danuri vividly show the texture and craters of the lunar surface with Earth in the distant background." It further introduced, "Danuri is equipped with a permanent shadow region camera (ShadowCam) developed by NASA," and explained, "Its mission is to detect ice in the lunar polar regions, providing crucial information for NASA's Artemis mission, a manned lunar landing planned for around 2025-26."

The science and technology media CNET wrote online on the 3rd, "South Korea's lunar probe has sent overwhelmingly spectacular Earth observation images," adding that "they evoke the Earthrise photos taken during NASA's Apollo missions and the Artemis 1 mission."

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, the American NBC network introduced major space development achievements of the past year, covering the success of NASA's lunar return program Artemis 1 mission, followed immediately by South Korea's Danuri. NBC reported, "South Korea's first space exploration mission beyond Earth's orbit, the lunar orbiter Danuri, was launched on August 4 and arrived in lunar orbit at the end of this month," and added, "It will remain in lunar orbit for one year, conducting missions such as lunar surface mapping and photography, with a particular focus on observing the permanently shadowed lunar polar regions. This will aid future lunar exploration plans as part of NASA's Artemis program."