• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.836-843
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• 2017

In lunar exploration, the necessity of utilizing rover is verified by the examples of the Soviet Union and China and the similar Mars missions of the United States. In order to achieve the successful management of a lunar rover, a high precision navigation technique is required, and accordingly, high precision initial alignment is essential. Even though it is general to perform initial alignment in a steady state, a multiposition alignment technique is applied when high performance is needed. On the lunar surface, however, the performance of initial alignment decreases from that on Earth, and it cannot be improved by applying multiposition alignment method owing to certain constraints of lunar environment. In this paper, a sun sensor aided multiposition alignment technique is proposed. The measurement model for a sun vector is established, and its observability analysis is performed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified through computer simulations, and the results show the estimation performance is improved dramatically.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.471-482
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• 2019

The mission of the high-resolution camera for the lunar exploration is to provide 3D topographic information. It enables us to find the appropriate landing site or to control accurate landing by the short distance stereo image in real-time. In this paper, the ground verification and analysis system using the multi-application stereo camera to develop the high-resolution camera for the lunar exploration are proposed. The mission test items and test plans for the mission requirement are provided and the test results are analyzed by the ground verification and analysis system. For the realistic simulation for the lunar orbiter, the target area that has similar characteristics with the real lunar surface is chosen and the aircraft flight is planned to take image of the area. The DEM is extracted from the stereo image and compose three dimensional results. The high-resolution camera mission requirements for the lunar exploration are verified and the ground data analysis system is developed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.41.2-42
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• 2017

We are planning to conduct Monte Carlo simulations for the Na exospheres of the Moon including localized sources on the surface in addition to the global isotropic and anisotropic sources, which were previously studied. The simulation models are based on Lee et al. (2011), who presented a satisfactory interpretation for the isotropic and anisotropic sources of the Lunar Na exosphere. We will compare our preliminary models with existing and the future lunar tail/exospheric observations by the LADEE and NASA's coronagraph-monitoring programs. Ground-based data show global-scale outflows of Na in contrast to small-scale data usually obtained near the orbits of spacecraft.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2015

At the suggestion of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (NASA/MEO), which promotes lunar impact monitoring worldwide during NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission period (launched Sept. 2013), we set up a video observation system for lunar impact flashes using a 16-inch educational telescope at Chungnam National University. From Oct. 2013 through Apr. 2014, we recorded 80 hours of video observation of the unilluminated part of the crescent moon in the evening hours. We found a plausible candidate impact flash on Feb. 3, 2014 at selenographic longitude $2.1^{\circ}$ and latitude $25.4^{\circ}$. The flash lasted for 0.2 s and the light curve was asymmetric with a slow decrease after a peak brightness of $8.7{\pm}0.3mag$. Based on a star-like distribution of pixel brightness and asymmetric light curve, we conclude that the observed flash was due to a meteoroid impact on the lunar surface. Since unequivocal detection of an impact flash requires simultaneous observation from at least two sites, we strongly recommend that other institutes and universities in Korea set up similar inexpensive monitoring systems involving educational or amateur telescopes, and that they collaborate in the near future.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.138.2-138.2
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• 2012

Cave on the Moon is considered as the most appropriate place for human to live during the frontier lunar exploration. While the lava flows, the outer crust gets cooled and solidified. Then, the empty space is remained inside after lava flow stops. Such empty space is called the lava caves. Those lava tubes on the Earth are formed mostly by volcanic activity. However, the lava tubes on satellite like Moon and planet like Mars without volcanic activity are mostly formed by the lava flow inside of the crater made by large meteorite impact. Some part of lava tube with collapsed ceiling appears as the entrance of the cave. Such area looks like a deep crater so called a pit crater. Four large pit craters with diameter of > 60 m and depth of > 40 m are found without difficulty from Kaguya and LRO mission image archives. However, those are too deep to use as easily accessible human frontier base. Therefore, now we are going to identify some smaller lunar caves with accessible entrances using LRO camera images of 0.5 m/pixel resolution. Earth's lava caves and their entrances are well photographed by surface and aerial camera in immense volume. Thus, if the image data are sorted and archived well, those images can be used in comparison with the less distinct lunar cave and entrance images due to its smaller size. Then, we can identify the regions on the Moon where there exist caves with accessible entrances. The database will be also useful in modeling geomorphology for lunar and Martian caves for future artificial intelligence investigation of the caves in any size.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.21-31
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• 2022

Prospecting ice on Moon requires drilling systems to obtain subsurface samples and measure composition of ice deposits. Landers and rovers need to be equipped with drilling equipment in order to analyze the ice and subsurface resources located at the poles of Moon. These devices must be small, lightweight, low-power, highly efficient and high-performance units in order to function properly under the extreme conditions of the lunar environment. Researchers have developed a prototype drilling apparatus that is able to operate in atmospheric and cold environments. Newly developed drilling system in Korea, which is capable of performing not only sampling but also subsurface investigation, is introduced.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.78.1-78.1
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• 2021

A Lunar observatory not only provides ideas and experiences for space settlements from the Moon to Mars, but also puts the telescope in an optimal position to compete with space telescopes. Earth observation on the Moon's surface has the advantage of no atmospheric scattering or light pollution and is a stable fuel-free observation platform, allowing all longitude and latitude of the Earth to be observed for a month. Observing the entire globe with a single observation instrument, which has never been attempted before, and calculating the global albedo will significantly help predict the weather and climate change. Spectropolarimetric observations can reveal the physical and chemical properties of the Earth's atmosphere, track the global distribution and migration path of aerosols and air pollutants, and can also help detect very small space debris of which the risk has increased recently. In addition, the zodiacal light, which is difficult to observe from Earth, is very easy to observe from the lunar observatory, so it will be an opportunity to reveal the origin of the solar system and take a step closer to understanding the exoplanet system. In conclusion, building and developing a lunar observatory will be a groundbreaking study to become the world's leader that we have never tried before as a first step in expanding human experience and intelligence.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.131-148
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• 2023

Lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) never see direct sunlight and are illuminated only by secondary illumination - light reflected from nearby topography. The ShadowCam imaging experiment onboard the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter is acquiring images of these PSRs. We characterize and discuss the nature of secondary illumination for the Shackleton PSR from ShadowCam radiance-calibrated images. We also use modeling to understand the magnitude and direction of the secondary illumination. Results from our analysis highlight the non-homogeneous, dynamic, and complex nature of PSR secondary lighting. Knowledge of the direction of the secondary illumination is crucial for reli-able interpretation of contrasts observed in ShadowCam images. This preliminary analysis of the floor of Shackleton crater from images acquired over multiple secondary illumination conditions does not reveal indications of exposed surface ice, even though temperatures are constantly below 110K.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1356-1358
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• 2003

In the paper, a method making use of the characteristics of Dyad Green Function (DGF) and Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem to get the brightness temperature of layered medium is introduced. Based on the approach and the measured data of multi-channel radiometer and Least Square Method (LSM), the thickness of lunar soil can be retrieved. These methods are significant to study on materials on lunar surface.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.59-73
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• 2023

Since the farside of the moon is a place to avoid artificial radio frequency interference (RFI) created by human civilization, it is a most suitable place for searching technosignature, which are signs of technological civilization in the universe, in the radio band. The RFI is a factor that makes the study of searching technosignature quite complicated because it is difficult to distinguish between technological signals produced by human and extraterrestrial civilizations. In this paper, we review why the farside of the moon is the best place to detect technosignature and also introduce radio observatories on the farside of the moon that have been proposed in radio astronomy. The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project on the farside of the moon is expected to be one of the main candidates for international collaboration research topics on lunar surface observatory.