Seoul, Dec. 28 (BNA): The South Korean unmanned spacecraft, Danuri, successfully entered lunar orbit earlier than planned, the Ministry of Science said.
Danuri, also known as the Korean Lunar Pathfinder orbiter, was caught by the moon’s gravity on Tuesday and began orbiting, according to the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology.
This was achieved after three rounds of lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuvers since the first one conducted on December 17, Yonhap reported.
Danori was scheduled to achieve lunar orbit on Thursday after performing a total of five rounds of LOI maneuvers, which is the process of adjusting a spacecraft to lower its speed and adhere to the moon’s gravity.
The spacecraft will measure the terrain, magnetic strength, gamma rays, and other features of the lunar surface using six onboard instruments during its year-long mission, which begins in January. The probe will also locate potential landing sites for future lunar missions.
Danuri, South Korea’s first space mission beyond Earth’s orbit, was launched in August on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the US state of Florida on South Korea’s first lunar mission. A cumulative mileage of 5.94 million kilometers has been covered so far.
SM