South Korean First Lunar Orbiter ‘Danuri’ Sends Back Images of Moon’s Far Side

South Korea’s first Lunar Orbiter, Danuri, was launched on Falcon 9 rocket on August 22, 2022.

After travelling from Earth to space for around 145 days, the spacecraft entered a selenocentric orbit on December 27. It will study the Moon for at least a year, starting from its operation on February 4, about a month after test runs.

The spacecraft is equipped with six onboard equipment to measure the lunar surface’s topography, magnetic fields, gamma rays, and other characteristics through the end of this year.

Moreover, the orbiter will also identify potential landing locations for upcoming lunar missions.

According to the science ministry, the South Korean spacecraft Danuri has sent images of the Moon’s far side while on a mission to gather data on selenography.

Along with the Ministry of Science, the ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) states that the spacecraft is orbiting around the Moon 100 kilometres above the surface, captured images of the Tsiolkovskiy crater on March 22 and the Vallis Schrodinger and Szilard M craters on March 24 using its high-resolution cameras.

As per some reports, those are the first images acquired by South Korea of the Moon’s far side.

Also, Danuri captured images with its wide-angle polarimetric camera (PolCam), designed to measure the polarization degree of the Moon’s surface in order to understand its composition and volcanic deposits.

You can also check out the real-time location of Danuri, captured images, and collated data on the website of the orbiter.