South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that his country wants to land a spacecraft on the Moon by 2032 and explore the resources there as part of its “future space economy” plan.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, Yoon stated that they will continue with a vision that space can guide the global economy and solve the problems faced by humanity, and stated that the dream of space power is not in the distant future, but is an opportunity and hope for children and young people.
Expressing that South Korea will send a spacecraft to the Moon by 2032 and that the resources on the moon will be discovered within the scope of the “future space economy” plan, Yoon shared the information that his country will develop domestic rockets for the moon mission within 5 years.
Yoon noted that as part of its long-term space plan, South Korea aims to land a spacecraft on Mars on the 100th anniversary of Independence Day, which will be celebrated in 2045.
It was stated that within the framework of the comprehensive plan, the focus will be on the development of the space industry and the training of experts.
It was also stated that a space agency similar to the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) will be established by the South Korean administration.
The creation of the space agency was one of Yoon’s campaign promises, and the government is preparing to have the agency’s creation bill approved next year.
KPLO was launched in August
Participating in the space race, South Korea has accelerated its investments in this field in recent years, and after its first attempt failed, it sent its domestic production rocket “Nuri” into space for the second time on June 21.
South Korea launched the first lunar rover, KPLO, into space in August 2022.
The reconnaissance vehicle launched by the US-based space company SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida, USA with a Falcon 9 rocket, was the first step of South Korea towards the Moon mission.
