South Korea is about to embark on its first lunar mission. This launch can be watched live here. It's hard to believe, but the upcoming launch will be the first time that a payloads will be sent to the moon. South Korea's first mission to the Moon will add itself to a very small list of nations that have already done so.
The mission is managed by the Korea Aeronautical Research Institute. At 7:08 p.m., the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 40. There is an hour and a half later. You can watch live coverage at either SpaceX or the feed below.
Israel's Beresheet Moon landers crashed on the lunar surface in February, but that was part of a routine Falcon 9 mission to ageosynchronous transfer around Earth. After being in space, Beresheet used its own power to gradually raise its altitude, eventually entering into the moon. The private company has sent objects deep into the solar system, but never before has it sent something to the moon.
Today will be the day that that changes. There's an 80% chance of good weather. The company will try again tomorrow at 7 p.m. There is an hour and a half later.
The first stage will attempt to land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship. Several successful landings have been achieved by this booster. After 34 minutes into the mission, the second stage will perform a re-start and the engine will stop. Five minutes later, Danuri will deploy and travel to the moon.
In December, the 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) probe will enter into a lunar polar circle, where it will stay for at least a year. If the mission is extended, KPLO will fall to an altitude of 73 km above the Moon. There is a reason why it will take so long for Danuri to reach its goal.
Instead of launching the satellite as a rideshare payload to an Earth orbit, KPLO...will be the only spacecraft aboard Falcon 9, and the SpaceX rocket will directly send the orbiter on a type of trans-lunar injection (TLI) trajectory known as a Ballistic Lunar Transfer. A BLT is much slower than some alternative TLI trajectories, but it trades speed for exceptional efficiency, making the launch easier for Falcon 9 and ultimately giving the orbiter more useful time around the Moon by requiring less propellant to enter orbit.
According to NASA, the primary goals of the mission are to develop indigenous lunar exploration technologies, demonstrate a space internet, and conduct scientific investigations of the lunar environment, topography, and resources. The high-sensitivity camera provided by the space agency was one of the instruments that South Korea developed for the mission. The five devices weigh no more than 80 pounds.
The incoming data will be analyzed by a group of NASA scientists. Scientists with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, will use the PolCAM to study lunar pyroclastic deposits, which formed long ago in the wake of violent volcanic eruptions. Ash deposits can be found in the lunar interior and can contain volatile materials. They have the ability to provide information on the nature of the lunar interior and represent a potential resource for future human use.
As another nation looks to establish a presence around the moon, we wish the best of luck to South Korea.
The failed missions to the moon remind us that space is hard.
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