S. Korea's lunar orbiter likely to operate for 2 more years

SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unmanned space vehicle Danuri is expected to operate for two more years thanks to its energy-saving mode, a senior government official said Wednesday.

"Regarding its energy consumption and remaining fuel, we see Danuri would possibly operate until 2025," Vice Science Minister Oh Tae-seog told reporters during a press meeting in the central city of Sejong. "We will discuss the issue later this month."

Danuri, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter and the country's first space mission beyond Earth's orbit, entered the selenocentric orbit on Dec. 27 after 145 days of traveling from Earth and started its operation on Feb. 4 about a month after test runs.

While rotating around the moon 100 kilometers above the surface, the orbiter is assigned to measure the terrain, magnetic strengths, gamma rays and other traits of the lunar surface using six onboard instruments for about a year. The orbiter will also identify potential landing sites for future lunar missions.

The official said the vehicle uses some 30 kilograms of energy for a year and it had 86 kg of fuel as of October last year.

As a result, Danuri is able to carry out its mission for two more years, he added.

The orbiter had traveled to the moon on a ballistic lunar transfer trajectory -- which takes the vehicle toward the sun before looping back to arrive at the moon's orbit. The route, while much longer than traveling directly toward the moon, allows for more fuel efficiency, as it uses the sun's gravity to travel.

brk@yna.co.kr
(END)