Danuri begins orbiting the moon after successful LOI

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter — the spacecraft's formal name — completed an orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver at 2:45 a.m., Saturday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

Researchers at Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) carry out Danuri's first lunar orbit insertion maneuver on Saturday at a ground control center at KARI headquarters in Daejeon. [MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT]

Danuri entered lunar orbit on Saturday.

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter — the spacecraft's formal name — completed an orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver at 2:45 a.m., Saturday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

During the LOI process, a spacecraft lowers its speed to enter the moon's orbit.

Danuri, Korea's first lunar orbiter, successfully carried out its first LOI maneuver on Saturday, achieving an elliptical orbit around the moon.

The initial maneuver is most crucial in placing Danuri well enough within the moon's gravitational field to be captured.

“Danuri entered the moon’s gravity and became a real ‘lunar orbiter,’ orbiting around the moon,” said a KARI spokesperson Monday.

Danuri is scheduled for four more LOI maneuvers through Dec. 28, and will achieve the target orbit 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) above the moon’s surface on Dec. 29.

The domestically-developed lunar orbiter was launched on Aug. 5, carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

It headed toward the sun first, before heading toward the moon by using the gravitational pull of planets.

The lunar mission will begin in February 2023, after a month of tests through January, and will last until December. The mission is to collect data related to lunar resources and search for a lunar landing location.

In November, Danuri sent texts and images, including the “Dynamite” (2020) music video by BTS, through interplanetary communication.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]