From 'Lake of Death' to Clavius, Korea searches moon for 2032 landing sites
Korea is shopping for real estate on the moon, and its newly established space agency has its eye on some of the lunar surface’s most forbidding neighborhoods. At a recent academic symposium, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) revealed a shortlist of prospective landing sites for two robotic missions scheduled for 2032. The agency is weighing 20 candidate zones for its flagship lunar…
Korea is exploring options for lunar real estate, with its newly formed space agency, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), scouting some of the most challenging areas of the moon's surface. At a recent academic conference, KASA unveiled a shortlist of potential landing sites for two missions set to launch in 2032. The agency is evaluating 20 zones for its primary lunar lander and nine for a preliminary soft-landing demonstration vehicle, marking a significant shift in Korea's deep-space exploration strategy.
Instead of concentrating solely on the lunar south pole, which is already popular for NASA's Artemis program and competing missions hunting for water ice, Korean researchers are considering a wider, more diverse range of locations. The candidate list includes ancient impact basins, rugged basaltic plains, and deep pit craters that may contain underground lava tubes.
One of the most promising targets for the 2032 verification probe is Lacus Mortis, or the "Lake of Death," a rugged plain where scientists believe collapsed lava tubes could be present.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
