• 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.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.149-171
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• 2023

ShadowCam is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advanced Exploration Systems funded instrument hosted onboard the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) satellite. By collecting high-resolution images of permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), ShadowCam will provide critical information about the distribution and accessibility of water ice and other volatiles at spatial scales (1.7 m/pixel) required to mitigate risks and maximize the results of future exploration activities. The PSRs never see direct sunlight and are illuminated only by light reflected from nearby topographic highs. Since secondary illumination is very dim, ShadowCam was designed to be over 200 times more sensitive than previous imagers like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle Camera (LROC NAC). ShadowCam images thus allow for unprecedented views into the shadows, but saturate while imaging sunlit terrain.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.173-197
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• 2023

ShadowCam is a high-sensitivity, high-resolution imager provided by NASA for the Danuri (KPLO) lunar mission. ShadowCam calibration shows that it is well suited for its purpose, to image permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) that occur near the lunar poles. It is 205 times as sensitive as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC). The signal to noise ratio (SNR) is greater than 100 over a large part of the dynamic range, and the top of the dynamic range is high enough to accommodate most brighter PSR pixels. The optical performance is good enough to take full advantage of the 1.7 meter/pixel image scale, and calibrated images have uniform response. We describe some instrument artifacts that are amenable to future corrections, making it possible to improve performance further. Stray light control is very challenging for this mission. In many cases, ShadowCam can image shadowed areas with directly illuminated terrain in or near the field of view (FOV). We include thorough qualitative descriptions of circumstances under which lunar brightness levels far higher than the top of the dynamic range cause detector or stray light artifacts and the size and extent of the artifact signal under those circumstances.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.741-749
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• 2022

Major space agencies are planning for the rover-based lunar exploration since water-ice was detected in permanently shadowed regions (PSR). Although sunlight does not directly reach the PSRs, it is expected that reflected sunlight sustains a certain level of low-light environment. In this research, the indoor testbed was made to simulate the PSR's lighting and topological conditions, to which low light enhancement methods (CLAHE, Dehaze, RetinexNet, GLADNet) were applied to restore image brightness and color as well as to investigate their influences on the performance of feature extraction and matching methods (SIFT, SURF, ORB, AKAZE). The experiment results show that GLADNet and Dehaze images in order significantly improve image brightness and color. However, the performance of the feature extraction and matching methods were improved by Dehaze and GLADNet images in order, especially for ORB and AKAZE. Thus, in the lunar exploration, Dehaze is appropriate for building 3D topographic map whereas GLADNet is adequate for geological investigation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.801-809
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• 2019

NASA's lunar polar exploration mission in 2009 confirmed the presence of ice-layer in the permanently shadowed regions (PSR) of the moon. Since then, studies have been actively conducted to evaluate the ground characteristics for exploring the ice-layer in the polar regions of the Moon. In this study, transient heat transfer analysis for the lunar ground was conducted to predict the ground's temperature that varies with the time and location. As a result of the numerical analysis, it was confirmed that the temperature under the lunar ground converged to below the ice sublimation reference temperature (≒112 K) at above 86° latitude. This model enabled us to identify the regions where there is a high possibility of ice being buried. Besides, we found that the ice-layer in the shallow region, where the temperature deviation is significant, makes ground temperature distribution heterogeneous. Lastly, this study suggested the maximum allowable frictional heat of a drill bit that can preserve the phase of buried ice.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Space exploration is at the forefront of human scientific endeavors, and planetary exploration rovers play a critical role in studying planetary surfaces. Rover performance is especially vital for safely navigating steep terrain and delicate landscapes found on planets like Mars and the Moon. This paper offers a comprehensive overview of a landing testbed designed to simulate challenging extraterrestrial terrain and loose regolith. The paper briefly outlines lunar crater region topographical features and highlights the importance of these simulations in rover testing. It then explores previous landing testbed developments and describes the design process for a landing testbed to be installed in the dirty thermal vacuum chamber at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology. Once realized, this proposed landing testbed will enable precise evaluations of rover mobility and exploration capabilities under lunar-like conditions, including high vacuum and extreme temperatures.