SEOUL: South Korea is looking to have its own space economy as it will soon join other advanced countries with the launch of its own lunar orbiter.
The country is set to launch its first lunar orbiter, the Danuri, aboard SpaceX's rocket in the United States on Aug 3, marking its first step into the niche space market.
Space economy refers to the economy beyond Earth, including exploring deep space, extracting resources that are rare on Earth and developing technologies necessary for space exploration.
According to a Korea Times report, space-related industries have a vast growth potential, with a 2017 Morgan Stanley projection showing the global space industry could grow to around US$1 trillion by 2040.
The Bank of America predicted in 2020 that the industry could grow to US$1.4 trillion even sooner, by 2030.
The rapid growth is partly due to private sector players such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who have set up their own space development companies and have been making huge investments into technological development.
"Securing space-related technologies can lead to the development of other industries, especially the defense sector, and ultimately, we can also expect to collect minerals that are not available on Earth," Ahn Jae-myung, a professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), told The Korea Times.
He said that with the Danuri lunar orbiter project, the government sees a moon landing to be possible by the early 2030s.
"Its next mission, which is collecting resources there and returning to Earth, is a more difficult mission than simply landing on the moon. The plan should be carried out in the long run, but the economic benefits of implementing the plan are expected to be significant," Ahn said.
He added that although it cannot be determined how many years it will take for South Korea to reap any economic benefits, the ability to harness resources found in space was not too far away.
"These activities will lead to exploring metal-rich asteroids in the end. I don't know how long it will take to achieve this goal, but I don't think it'll take a hundred years and it will be visible in 10 or 20 years," Ahn said.
The Korea Times report said the South Korean government has high expectations for the Danuri as it hoped to make it the stepping stone for the country's space development plans.
President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to open the era of the space economy and promised to help the public and private sectors create economic benefits through research and development in the space industry and space-related products and services.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that our future depends on space, which is a key area of national competitiveness," Yoon said during his visit to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute's (KARI) Daejeon office on July 6, following the country's successful launching of its Nuri rocket into space on June 21.
"The government will make a bold investment and establish the Korea Aerospace Administration to thoroughly support the space industry."
He said that following the lunar orbiter launch in August, the country would develop a lunar lander by 2031, and expand participation in the Artemis programme.
The Artemis program is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) human-led moon exploration project.
The Danuri is now at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for a month-long preflight inspection.
Weighing at 678 kg, the Danuri will be equipped with five pieces of observation equipment using South Korean technology and will host a ShadowCam device from NASA to observe the darkest parts of the moon's surface.
The Danuri is expected to travel through space for a duration of about four and a half months before settling into a lunar orbit in December. Circling 100 km over the moon, the orbiter will conduct scientific missions, including finding a landing site for spacecraft on The Danuri is expected to travel through space for a duration of about four and a half months before settling into a lunar orbit in December. Circling 100 km over the moon, the orbiter will conduct scientific missions, including finding a landing site for spacecraft on the moon and also measuring the magnetic field and gamma rays. It will also test space-based internet communications from February to December 2023.