The South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT declared on Tuesday that Danuri, the country’s lunar orbiter, had obtained pictures of the moon’s southern pole region that had been reached by India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. At 7:55 a.m. on August 27th, Danuri, orbiting the moon 100 kilometers above its surface, captured visuals of Shiv Shakti Point, the landing spot of Chandrayaan-3. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) corroborated the news. The accompanying photo, provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT, displays Shiv Shakti Point, the landing site of Chandrayaan-3, taken by South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter at 7:55 a.m. on August 27th, 2023.
Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, had a successful touchdown on the moon about 600 kilometers away from the south pole at the start of August, making India the first to land closest to the lunar south pole.
Danuri, South Korea’s first lunar orbiter, was launched in December 2020 and began its mission in February after undergoing trials. Until the end of this year, the orbiter will be employed to measure the terrain, magnetic strengths, gamma rays, and other characteristics of the lunar surface with its six on-board instruments. Danuri will also be used to identify potential landing sites for future lunar missions.