South Korea, which recently created its own space agency like NASA, is serious about becoming one of the leading space powers. Already in 2032, the country plans to land its probe on the Moon, and an automatic mission to Mars is planned for 2045.
Korean Space Agency
In 2045, the Korean probe is scheduled to make a soft landing on Mars. This statement was made on Thursday, June 30 by the country’s President Yoon Suk Yeol. According to him, the government plans to spend $70 billion on space exploration in the coming years.
All this is being done in order to make South Korea a leading space power that could compete with China, India and Japan. This should be facilitated by the recently created Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), modeled after NASA. It will be headed by John Lee, who has worked for 30 years in the relevant structures of the United States.
In general, the Korean president is highly counting on rapid space exploration. After all, according to him, there is a dream beyond the Earth. In order to achieve it next year, the KASA budget will almost double and amount to 1.1 billion dollars.
What does South Korea plan?
South Korea plans to develop its space science gradually. It intends to start with the fact that in 2025 it will launch its new Nuri rocket again. It became a real sensation when last year, on the third attempt, it was able to put a satellite into orbit.
Further plans are related to the Moon. South Korea already sent the Danuri spacecraft there in 2022. However, its further steps in this direction will be related to the planned return of American astronauts to the Earth’s moon in 2026.
Regardless, in 2032, KASA will try to land its own probe on the moon. Next, the Koreans plan to actively involve the private sector in missions, and in 2045 it will finally be Mars’ turn.
According to phys.org
