by South Korea’s first lunar mission is now fully operational and revealing new views of Earth and the Moon from lunar orbit.
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), also known as Danurireached low lunar orbit in mid-December and delivered a first batch of splendid images in january.
The spacecraft has quietly continued its scientific work ever since. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has released a new set of images of Danuri on Twitter on Sunday (opens in new tab) (February 12th), showing detailed views of Vallis Rheita, taken on January 5th, Mare Imbrium (January 10th), Oceanus Procellarum (January 13th) and a series of images showing the phases of Earthseen from lunar orbit.
Related: South Korea’s Lunar Mission Takes Stunning Pictures of Earth After Successful Lunar Landing
Danuri left aboard a SpaceX falcon 9 rocket in early August last year, finally reaching its intended orbit on December 27. The probe began its full operational phase on Feb. 4, according to an update KARI posted on Facebook.
The spacecraft is also carrying the NASA-funded satellite. shadowcam instrument, which is designed to peer into craters in the moon whose floors do not receive direct sunlight.
ShadowCam is derived from NASA’s onboard cameras Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter but it is 200 times more sensitive to light, allowing it to capture light reflected off the crater walls and peaks to provide unprecedented views in permanently shadowed regions, or PSRs.
ShadowCam captured a series of images of Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole, revealing a detailed view of the permanently shadowed wall and floor of the crater. The tests are designed to calibrate and test the camera’s functionality as part of an operational verification period that will be completed before the end of February, according to NASA.
High-resolution images collected by ShadowCam could provide clues about lunar evolution, water trapped as ice in shadowed regions, and even help with crew location selection. Artemis missions, according to NASA.
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