South Korea Plans to Build a Lunar Base on the Moon
Like China, India, and Japan from Asia, South Korea also aims for space exploration and gets into the queue of America and Russia, which are the leaders in the lunar world.
According to The Korea Times’ July 17 report, the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), established in 2024, has made a plan in Daejeon at the National Research Foundation of Korea in which they highlighted “five core missions.” Those missions include
- Low Earth orbit
- Microgravity
- Lunar exploration
- Solar missions
- Space missions
Lunar Exploration
If you dive deeper into it, you will understand that the KASA has subdivided the plan with a big goal of developing a module by 2040 for logistical purposes. In this big picture, their main agenda is to build an economic moon base by 2045, aiming to surpass India, which has a vision to do the same thing by 2047. However, this plan of developing a lunar base is not the core of everything. Unlike India, they want to develop a sophisticated system of utilizing the resources found on the moon via mining. For this, the team has been doing work and has done some prior.
Danuri
In August 2022, South Korea launched a moon probe, also known as Korea Pathfinder Lunar orbiter or Danuri. It reached the moon orbit after four months and is still there with all its instruments.
Lunar Rovers in a Coal Mine
With the motive of mining crucial resources on the moon, the KASA and the Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources are in active collaboration. Recently, they created a prototype of lunar rovers and deployed it in an abandoned coal mine, where they stimulated conditions similar to the moon to test if their product could be used for space mining in the near future on the moon.
Other Plans for Lunar Exploration
The KASA has other plans, too, in exploring the Moon. The team wants to launch a robotic lander in lunar space by 2032, but right now, they are giving more importance to building a lunar base and moon lander by 2045 and 2040, respectively.
Solar Missions
Besides lunar missions, the KASA wants to develop probes to monitor solar space and conduct a thorough study on the heliosphere and the sun. Their core agenda is to launch a satellite in space by 2035 at the L4 Lagrange point to observe the activities of the Sun and determine the balance between the Sun and Earth due to the gravitational force.
Space Mission
In the case of space, the KASA has a plan to land its first spacecraft on Mars by 2045, aiming to position the nation in space exploration as an active and keen player like the current world’s superpowers.
Conclusion
South Korea is eager to develop a lunar base and enter into the solar competition where America and Russia are leading, while China, Japan, and India are on the way to developing their bases on the moon. The KASA has recently announced its extensive plan to leave its mark in the solar and space world by focusing on five major activities. The core component of those activities is to explore lunar space.
FAQs
Who is the head of the KASA?
Currently, the organization’s head is Yoon Young-bin. He is working as the inaugural chief of the KASA.
Where is South Korea standing in lunar exploration?
Currently, South Korea is neither a country with all developed resources nor an amateur. Yet, it is working actively on developing their space vehicle or the KSLV-III.
Can South Korea outsmart China?
In case of lunar exploration, although South Korea is ambitious, China has a better budget and has a prior experience, due to which it is unlikely to outsmart them.
Who is the main competitor of South Korea in lunar exploration?
Its main competitor is India because the two are standing on the same boat in terms of experience. While America and China are geeks in front of them.
