• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 2014

Odyssey, one of the NASA's Mars exploration program and SELENE (Kaguya), a Japanese lunar orbiting spacecraft have a payload of Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) for analyzing radioactive chemical elements of the atmosphere and the surface. In these days, gamma-ray spectroscopy with a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector has been widely used for the activity measurements of natural radionuclides contained in the soil of the Earth. The energy spectra obtained by the HPGe detectors have been generally analyzed by means of the Window Analysis (WA) method. In this method, activity concentrations are determined by using the net counts of energy window around individual peaks. Meanwhile, an alternative method, the so-called Full Spectrum Analysis (FSA) method uses count numbers not only from full-absorption peaks but from the contributions of Compton scattering due to gamma-rays. Consequently, while it takes a substantial time to obtain a statistically significant result in the WA method, the FSA method requires a much shorter time to reach the same level of the statistical significance. This study shows the validation results of FSA method. We have compared the concentration of radioactivity of $^{40}K$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{238}U$ in the soil measured by the WA method and the FSA method, respectively. The gamma-ray spectrum of reference materials (RGU and RGTh, KCl) and soil samples were measured by the 120% HPGe detector with cosmic muon veto detector. According to the comparison result of activity concentrations between the FSA and the WA, we could conclude that FSA method is validated against the WA method. This study implies that the FSA method can be used in a harsh measurement environment, such as the gamma-ray measurement in the Moon, in which the level of statistical significance is usually required in a much shorter data acquisition time than the WA method.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.59.2-59.2
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• 2021

현재 우리나라는 달탐사 개발 사업을 통하여 2022년 8월 발사를 목표로 달 궤도선인 KPLO와 과학임무 및 기술검증 임무를 수행하게 될 임무 탑재체, 임무 수행을 위한 각종 소프트웨어의 개발, 궤도/궤적의 설계 등 일련의 개발 과정을 순조롭게 수행하고 있다. 또한 달 궤도선인 KPLO와 이들 탑재체에 대한 운영과 관제를 수행하는 KPLO 심우주 지상국도 일정에 따라 개발 막바지에 접어들고 있다. 특히 KPLO 심우주 지상국에는 우리나라 대학과 정부출연연구소에 의해서 개발되는 과학탑재체 4기가 달 궤도에서 과학임무를 수행하여 얻게되는 달 탐사 과학자료, 즉, 과학임무자료를 달 탐사에 직접 참여하는 과학자들뿐만 아니라 일반인들도 교육 및 연구에 활용할 수 있도록 달 탐사 과학자료의 저장, 공개, 관리를 위한 Archive system인 KARI Planetary Data System(KPDS)도 함께 개발되고 있다. KPDS는 전문 연구자와 일반인들이 별도의 교육없이 인터넷을 통하여 쉽게 접속하여 KPLO의 과학탑재체가 획득한 달 탐사 과학자료를 검색하여 내려받아 사용할 수 있도록 서비스를 제공할 예정이다. 본 논문에서는 과학탑재체 개발기관 소속의 연구자가 달 탐사 과학자료에 대한 검보정 처리와 과학적 분석을 수행하기 위해서 텔레메트리 형태의 원본형태의 과학자료를 KPDS로부터 다운로드 받는 과정과 검보정 처리가 된 과학자료를 일반 사용자들이 내려 받아 사용할 수 있도록 과학자료가 공개되기까지 일련의 과정을 설명하고, 연구자 및 일반사용자가 직접 접하게 되는 KPDS의 주요한 사용자 환경에 대해서 설명한다.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.119-131
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• 2018

In spite of a short history of only 30 years in space development, Korea has achieved outstanding space development capabilities, and became the $11^{th}$ member of the "Space Club" in 2013 by launching its own satellites with its own launch vehicle from a local space center. With the successful development and operation of more than 10 earth-orbiting satellites since 1999, Korea is now rapidly expanding its own aspirations to outer space exploration. Unlike earth-orbiting missions, planetary missions are more demanding of well-rounded technological capabilities, specifically trajectory design, analysis, and navigation. Because of the importance of relevant technologies, the Korean astronautical society devoted significant efforts to secure these basic technologies from the early 2000s. This paper revisits the numerous efforts conducted to date, specifically regarding flight dynamics and navigation technology, to prepare for future upcoming planetary missions in Korea. However, sustained efforts are still required to realize such challenging planetary missions, and efforts to date will significantly advance the relevant Korean technological capabilities.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.81-90
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• 2024

With the discovery of energy resources such as water ice on the Moon's surface, the Moon is attracting attention as an outpost for deep space exploration. As the concept of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) for establishing sustainable deep space exploration outposts gains traction, there is an increasing demand for technology to solidify lunar regolith as an in situ resource. In this study, sintered blocks were manufactured using a hybrid microwave sintering furnace. The effects of system configuration and dwell time on the microwave sintering efficiency were assessed. The results indicated that the composition of the SiC susceptor and its distance from the magnetron influenced the manufacturing of homogeneous sintered blocks. Additionally, varying the dwell time at a sintering temperature of 1,080℃ under optimal conditions revealed that exceeding the threshold dwell time caused the sintered blocks to become heterogeneous, thereby reducing the sintering efficiency.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.86-99
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• 2023

The mass spectrometer, being an essential scientific instrument for uncovering the origin of the solar system and life, has been used since the early 1970s on board spacecraft to obtain information of neutral and ionized elements in the atmosphere and surface of the moon, planets, asteroids, and comets. According to the 4th Basic Plan for the Promotion of Space Development (2023-2027), Korea plans to conduct lunar landing in 2032 and Mars landing in 2045 as the core goals of the plan and focuses on developing the technologies required for unmanned robotic exploration missions. In this regard, it is crucial to develop the technology of a mass spectrometer, which is the most fundamental payload for space exploration for maximized scientific achievements, however never tried before in any domestic space missions. We describe in this paper the principle of a domestically developed quadrupole mass spectrometer, its prototype model, and the test results of its performance. We conclude this paper with intended future improvements.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.5-17
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• 2021

The Moon has been an attractive planet as an outpost for deep space exploration since He-3 and water ice which can be used as energy resources were discovered. In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) construction material fabrication method is required for sustainable space planet exploration. In this paper, the possibility of microwave sintering technology for construction material fabrication was evaluated using lunar regolith that can be easily collected from the Moon surface. Experimental assessment of the influence factors on microwave sintering was conducted using a hybrid sintering system for efficient processing. The heat distribution in the furnace was observed using thermal paper that is coated with a material formulated to change color when exposed to heat. Based on this result, sintered cylindrical KLS-1s with a diameter of 1 cm and a height of 2 cm were fabricated. Densities were measured for the sintered KLS-1s under rotating turntable conditions that have an effect of microwave dispersion. The more dielectrics were arranged, the more microwaves were dispersed reducing the heat concentration, and thus a uniformity of sintered KLS-1s was enhanced.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.1861-1867
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• 2016

Korea augmentation satellite system (KASS), which is a satellite-based augmentation system tailored for Korea, was launched for development in 2014. SBAS is a standard for aviation but it can also be utilized in non-aviation applications. The type and content of transmitted in SBAS data format are restricted. In order to utilize SBAS in fields that require the precision within centimeters, additional information has to be transmitted. It is important that data transmitted in nonstandard SBAS data not affect any operation of SBAS equipment. In this paper, we propose a non-standard SBAS data transmission method applicable to non-aviation applications that does not affect aviation SBAS receivers.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.520-523
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• 2022

일본 우주항공연구개발기구(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA)는 2007년부터 2017년까지 달 탐사선 셀레네(Selenological and Engineering Explorer, SelEnE)가 관측한 데이터를 수집하고, 연구했다. JAXA는 지구 상층 대기에 존재하는 산소가 자기장의 꼬리 부분에 실려 달로 이동한다는 사실을 발견했다. 하지만 이 연구는 아직 진행 중이며 달의 산화 과정 규명에 추가 연구가 필요하다. 본 논문에서는 생성적 적대 신경망(Generative Adversarial Networks, GAN)으로 달 분화구의 영구 그림자 영역을 제거하고, 물과 얼음을 발견하여 선행 연구의 완성도를 향상하고자 한다. 실험에 사용할 모델은 CIPS(Conditionally Independent Pixel Synthesis)다. CIPS는 실제 같은 영상을 고해상도로 합성한다. 합성할 데이터의 최적인 가중치 초기화 및 파라미터 갱신 방법, 활성 함수 조합은 실험을 통해 확인한다. 필요에 따라 앙상블 학습을 할 수도 있다. 성능평가는 FID(Frechet Inception Distance), 정밀도, 재현율을 사용한다. 제안한 방법은 진행 중인 연구의 시간과 비용을 절약하고, 인과관계를 더욱 명확히 밝히는 데 도움 될 수 있다고 사료된다.

• Current Industrial and Technological Trends in Aerospace
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.3-13
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• 2008

The year 2007 marked two important anniversaries for space. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 50 years ago on October 4. 1957. The 40th anniversary of the United Nations treaty on outer space was also marked in 2007. 2008 and 2007 were full of dramatic events of space activity as well : Success of Japan's first large lunar explorer 'KAGUYA'(SELENE) and China's 'Chang'e 1', launch of ISS laboratory module, 'Colombus' and 'Kibo', test of China's ASAT, and success of Korea's first astronaut program and so on. International government space budgets reached $78.3 billion in 2007, a strong growth rate of 36% over 2006, and the recently released Global Exploration Strategy, The Framework for Coordination is a set of guidelines for international cooperation among 14 of the world's space agencies. Worldwide space industry revenue grew by 20% over 2005, $106.1 billion in 2006 and $173.9 billion expected in 2007. This paper discusses the issues related to the Earth observation R&D trend and market in detail. Korea's 2008 government space spending is \316.4 billion, 2007 space industry revenue was $106 million. Several research projects are now underway and STSAT 2 will be launched by KSLV-1 at the Naro Space Center within this year.