[Exclusive] Danuri Scam?... Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Struggles with 'Fake News'

At the End of Last Year, a 'Fraud' Claim Video Uploaded on YouTube
KARI Refutes Black-and-White Camera Controversy with Explanation Video

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] South Korea's first lunar probe, Danuri, is scheduled to enter its official mission period on the 21st, but some have been spreading 'fake news' claiming that Danuri's lunar exploration itself is a 'scam.' The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) seems to be aware of this and has actively clarified the most controversial issue regarding Danuri's 'black-and-white camera.'

A video claiming the 'Danuri scam' posted on YouTube at the end of last year. Photo by YouTube capture

According to KARI on the 17th, a YouTuber with the account name 'Isanghan Nom-ui Jinjja Sesang' uploaded a 9-minute video titled 'Why Danuri is a Scam' on December 29 last year. The video accuses Danuri's lunar exploration of being a 'scam' for several reasons. First, regarding the fact that it took about four months for Danuri to settle into lunar orbit, the video claims that "Apollo 11 arrived in just three days" and calls KARI's explanation that it was to save fuel "absurd."

It also cites as evidence of the 'scam' that KARI's calculation of the lunar orbit insertion speed is flawed, that the installed camera is an outdated black-and-white type, and that in the Earth-Moon orbit scene, the Earth rotates horizontally while the Moon rotates on a tilted orbit. Regarding Danuri's simultaneous capture photo of the Earth and Moon, it points out that the Earth appears perfectly spherical and states, "This means the probe, the Sun, and the Earth are aligned in a straight line, so a partial or total eclipse should have occurred, but there is no record of such an event on that day (September 24 last year)." It also claims that a similar photo taken by NASA on July 16, 2015, is a fraudulent act, saying "There was no eclipse then either."

The YouTuber criticizes, "They succeeded in lunar exploration through manipulation and promote themselves as one of the world's top seven space powers," and adds, "Space technology is a fiction with no consistency when examined closely, a showy scam." The YouTuber appears to have a conservative Christian orientation, having posted many videos reflecting a biblical worldview such as 'the Earth is flat and the sky is round.' The Danuri-related video he posted has gained popularity, with over 1,100 comments and more than 25,000 views as of today.

A clarification video about the black-and-white controversy of Danuri camera LUTI uploaded by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute on YouTube on the 14th. Photo by YouTube capture

KARI's stance on these claims is that they are 'not worth considering.' No Hyung-il, head of KARI's public relations office, expressed frustration, saying, "The view count is quite high, but there is no way to restrain it." However, they seem to be quite concerned. On the 13th, KARI uploaded a video on its official YouTube channel actively addressing the controversy over Danuri's black-and-white camera. In the video, KARI explained that Danuri's high-resolution camera LUTI was black-and-white because, within the 12kg weight limit, black-and-white was advantageous for the mission of photographing the lunar surface. A color camera would require three sensors, and to meet the weight limit, resolution would have to be sacrificed. There was also the nature of space missions, where most targets are black-and-white. Instead, they increased the lens aperture, installed two lenses to prepare for malfunctions, and enabled wide-area simultaneous imaging.

Meanwhile, rebuttal comments calling the YouTuber's video 'nonsense' have been pouring in. Comments include, "Danuri's long journey is due to its small size and one-year mission duration, so it cannot be compared to Apollo 11," "KARI's calculation of lunar orbit insertion speed is correct because the probe is captured by lunar gravity," and "Issues regarding Earth-Moon orbit or the occurrence of total eclipses are due to shooting angles and distances."