Seoul, December 28, LETA–DPA. South Korea the first lunar probe has achieved its planned orbit around the earth satellite four months after launch, the science ministry announced on wednesday.
The content will continue after the announcement
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The “Danuri” probe was launched in August with the “Falcon-9” rocket of Elon Musk’s “SpaceX” company from the Cape Canaveral Cosmodrome in Florida, USA.
The 678-kilogram probe, whose name is a combination of the Korean words for “moon” and “enjoy”, will orbit the moon for a year and collect data from its surface. It has six different tools for finding water and other elements. The spacecraft will also search for potential landing sites on the Moon.
The probe was developed in collaboration between the South Korean state institute “Korea Aerospace Research Institute” (KARI), other South Korean institutes and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It took seven years to build.
South Korea has launched an ambitious space exploration program. In June, it successfully launched civilian satellites into Earth orbit using a home-made launch vehicle. South Korea also participates in NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program.
