This photo of Earth (L) and the moon is taken by a camera onboard South Korean lunar orbiter Danuri on Nov. 28, 2022, and provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s unmanned space vehicle Danuri has successfully performed its first lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver, the initial step to enter the orbit of the moon, the state space research center said Monday.
The unmanned space vehicle, which carried out the LOI maneuver at 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, carried out its mission to lower its speed from about 8,000 kilometers per hour to 7,500 kph on Monday, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
“Danuri has committed itself to the gravity of the moon and genuinely become a lunar orbiter,” KARI said in a statement.
The first LOI is the most important step for the orbiter to be captured by the moon’s gravity before beginning rotation, KARI added.
The vehicle is scheduled to perform four more rounds of LOI maneuvers in the coming days before entering the lunar orbit on Dec. 29. The second maneuver is planned for Wednesday.
Danuri, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, was launched in August aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the U.S. state of Florida for South Korea’s first lunar mission. It has traveled a cumulative 5.94 million km so far.
After entering the lunar orbit later this month as planned, Danuri will measure terrain, magnetic strengths, gamma rays and other traits of the lunar surface using six onboard instruments during its yearlong mission starting in January.
The orbiter will also identify potential landing sites for future lunar missions.
(Yonhap)
