South Korea is reportedly set to launch a homegrown earth observation nanosatellite into space this week. It is part of the plan to create the country's satellite constellation by 2027, the science ministry of the country stated on Tuesday.
As per the details available to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the nanosatellite, which is the first unit of the envisioned satellite constellation, will be launched from Rocket Lab's spaceport in Mahia, New Zealand, at around 10:08 a.m. on Wednesday (Wellington local time) which is around 3:38 am in IST, as per the Yonhap news agency.
The satellite, which has been named NEONSAT-1 will be launched on Rocket Lab's Electron rocket along with the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System created by the US space agency NASA.
NEONSAT stands for New-space Earth Observation SATellite constellation for National Safety.
NEONSAT-1, less than 100 kilograms in weight, will be the first among 11 nanosatellites to form a satellite constellation to monitor and take images of the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters, the report said.
South Korea further plans to launch five more nanosatellites into space in June 2026 and five more in September 2027, as per the ministry.
Recently, NASA, a US space agency reportedly selected three companies — Intuitive Machines, Venturi Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, to develop a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts which will help in traveling around the Moon’s surface. The vehicle will be capable of conducting scientific research during the Artemis campaign of the agency on the Moon and will further prepare human missions on Mars, NASA said in an official statement.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved the Chandrayaan-3 landing site which has been named 'Shiva Shakti'. The approval came on March 19 after PM Modi announced the name, post the success of the mission on August 26, 2023.
Inputs from IANS
