Daily Archives: September 6, 2021

Ali Agha, Caltech Project Lead, JPL Nebula Autonomy and AI, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, talks testing Boston Dynamics' Spot AI robot for Mars mission.

- Welcome back to "Yahoo Finance Live. Deeper space exploration missions come with their own set of challenges. Not only are instruments farther away, which make the delay in reacting to certain things difficult, but tricky terrain on the Martian surface has made wheel travel less ideal, as well. And that has researchers turning the Boston Dynamics dog-like robot-- you may remember that one from a lot of viral videos-- SPOT, as it's called, for potential solutions.

For more on that partnership, happy to welcome in our next guest here. Ali Agha, who has a plethora of titles here. But I'm just going to go ahead and call him group leader and roboticist at Nasa JPL. And Ali, really what you're focusing in on here in the project you lead is kind of the autonomy around some of these robots, to maybe try and figure out some of the things on their own to make the missions easier. But talk to me about how SPOT and that side of robotics helps.

ALI AGHA: Exactly, yeah. We here work on autonomy and artificial intelligence for robotic platforms. In some sense, you can think of our work as focused on building brains for robots. And typically, these brains are agnostic to specific robotic platforms. We integrate these. We have wheeled rovers. We have legged platforms, as the one you can see from Boston Dynamics. Even drones and flying robots with applications for terrestrial settings, search and rescue, mining and so on, as well as our main goal, which is space exploration.

And among these different locomotion capabilities and different mobility systems, legged robots are one of the most promising ones because specifically for NASA, targeting exploration of Mars surface, moon surface. We don't have roads there. It's all rugged terrain, off-road setting.

And even on Earth, when you have no road conditions, you typically have animals with legs, right? So legs offer much more capable locomotion ability to go over rocks and different extreme environments. And that's why we are very excited to integrate our autonomous solutions with these legged platforms to enable new kinds of missions.

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- I assume, too, that the cost has maybe become a little bit more complicated here. When you're thinking about SPOT off the shelf, I think what? It's like $75,000 for one of those things. And then you add on what you guys are working on. So how much more does it kind of come out to you, when you retrofit or add the capabilities that you need to kind of help in these missions?

ALI AGHA: Yeah. First of all, cost is coming down very rapidly. These technologies are just at-- these are the first steps in bringing these technologies to everyday life, to different types of missions. So the cost is rapidly going down and we are hoping that the legged platforms that are going to get cheaper and cheaper.

But you're right. At the moment, a based platform would cost something like around 70k or so. And adding AI, and autonomy, and the sensing payload on top of it kind of doubles the price, roughly speaking. And that's for terrestrial applications. Once there is really a mission to send these to Mars or the moon, there's all plethora of new challenges to be resolved, such as making sure thermally or radiation-wise, you make these robots Mars ready or moom ready, which would be a totally different scale of cost and need there.

- I mean, all the time, these videos go viral for, I guess, stoking fears in what the autonomous robot future might look like. So there are people out there who might be watching who might be afraid of the idea of adding autonomy to that SPOT dog.

But in the tests that you guys have been running so far, what have you learned about how it can help, and how maybe some of those fears are overblown? But also, the timeline to actually get these things up there for the next mission. What's it all look like?

ALI AGHA: Yeah, there's always that perception about what will happen with AI growing and being more and more capable. But I think something typically being missed is it's not growing in isolation. As it grows and gets more capable, humans are getting capable, as well. It's kind of part of us. It's part of the system we're building.

And in that sense, I think we see, similar to many other technologies in the last century and decades, the benefits typically are much higher. And you might remember the event a few years ago, the Thailand boys got stuck in a cave. If there was technologies that autonomously we send robots, they exactly pinpoint, this is the location. This is what capability is needed, or how rescue people can get to the exact point to save these boys, the mission could have been much faster. We save more lives, and so on.

And similarly, in mining disasters, after natural disasters, and oil and gas industry, there's a lot of application domains that these systems can make a very positive impact on everyday human life.

And when it comes to the second part of your question on NASA missions, of course, there's a long road ahead. The steps we are taking here are initial steps to demonstrate that when we go to extreme environments such as caves, such as places on Mars that are really interesting science-wise, this system is able to actually autonomously get to those points without us having prior information about the environment.

But when it comes to the time to really create a mission around these, there are other considerations, such as entry descent landing. Can we land these sorts of platforms nearby those caves or destinations of interest? How do we handle radiation in places like the moon or Mars where there's no thick atmosphere to protect from that? And similarly, how do we handle thermal variation? There's extreme temperatures, and a hot side and a cold side.

And those are the kind of things that, down the road, after the proof of concept is finalized, need to be studied before a mission with a legged robot to Mars becomes a reality.

- Yeah, you say humanity's progressing, as well. I don't know. It might just be the smart people in your lab. You might be overestimating how much humanity outside of the lab has progressed here.

But when you look at Elon Musk and what he is doing at Tesla, also similarly last month introduced their own kind of concept idea of a Tesla bot, an autonomous robot, as well, which is interesting because he's been pretty outspoken about some of those fears of a Terminator like future, as well. So I guess he's changed his mind on that.

But when you look at the progress on autonomy and what you guys are working on to have these robots do things that, to your point, would benefit humanity, how far off is that technology from maybe the consumer space where you could go out and buy one of these on your own?

ALI AGHA: Yeah, I think, first on Elon Musk, I would say what they're doing in SpaceX, it's amazing in the sense that the increase in the frequency of launches from private sector, SpaceX, Blue Origin, all other companies is going to basically expedite by far the amount of technologies and opportunities that's going to be there to colonize other planets. And that's an amazing push there, and it's very, very helpful for developing these sorts of technologies and expediting them.

And when it comes to benefits to humanity, I think it is-- in my opinion, the next era is a robotic and AI era, where basically, the AI comes to physical systems, and embodies and tries to help people. We can see already the impact on education. You can see all sorts of different robots that kids can use to learn coding, to help with their education.

We can see slowly the entrance of robots to health care. We can see a direct impact on-- in the COVID era, basically we saw the direct impact, how robots can sometimes isolate and reduce the risk to the patient, doctor, in hospitals. And search and rescue is definitely another very big application domain where, after natural disasters, there's a clear need to send these robots to save lives or make the operations way more efficient for rescue personnel.

- And we've been seeing a growing number of those natural disasters here. We might need more robots out there than were expected to help on the front. But Ali Agha, group leader and roboticist at NASA JPL, appreciate you coming on here to explain it all for us, man. Have a great weekend. Exciting to see all the progress there.

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Sending robots to space is the 'first step' to bringing AI to everday life: Group Leader and Technologist at NASA JPL and Caltech - Yahoo Finance

After years of persistence with her passion for space exploration, Dr. Sian Proctor is now a commercial astronaut known for representing prosperity and serving as the Mission Pilot aboard SpaceXs Inspiration4 the first-ever all-civilian spaceflight in the world. Apart from being one of the initial commoners to orbit Earth, Sian is only the fourth Black woman to go into outer space and the first Black woman pilot, which, as examined on Netflixs Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, will open the doors for many more. So now, lets learn more about her, shall we?

Dr. Sian Proctor was born on March 28, 1970, in Hagta, Guam, to Edward Langley Proctor Jr. and Gloria Deloris. Shes the youngest of four children, with two brothers, Edward Proctor III and Christopher Proctor, and sister Robyn Selent. In her own words, Sian is an Apollo 11 moon-landing celebration baby as shes born exactly eight and a half months after its success and her father was a Sperry Univac engineer who worked at NASA at that time. After the Apollo era, though, Edward Jr. changed several jobs, so Sian has lived in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, and other northern states.

Im #almost50 & reflecting on my life. Its a sad birthday for me because my parents are both gone & crazy times. Ive got a box of stuff from my mom that Im determined to go through to #celebrate my #life & their story. This is my only photo of just me & my parents! #mystory pic.twitter.com/XBLvMX95so

Dr. Sian Leo Proctor (@DrSianProctor) March 26, 2020

Due to the frequent moves and the surrounding situations, Sian developed an outgoing and adventurous personality, which helped her see the world in a different light. She even got labeled a tomboy because she loved to fish, play sports, & most of all I loved building airplanes and dreaming of being a fighter pilot. With this, its evident that her father was her biggest inspiration, but more importantly, he was also Sians proudest supporter.

In 2020, Sian tweeted, What I loved about my dad is he supported me w/ EVERYTHING I wanted to do. I liked building model airplanes so he took me to the hobby store. I wanted a Rambo knife -he bought it for me. I wanted to play baseball -not a problem. He never told me I couldnt do it. Unfortunately, Edward Jr. passed away at the age of 48 in 1989 following a severe asthma attack, and Gloria Deloris followed unexpectedly in April 2018. It seems like Sian is closest to her brother Chris as they attended college together, yet all the siblings share quite a good bond with one another.

Going to college with my brother Chris turned out to be the best thing ever! I remember the day he came to find me. I figured it was going to be the same old BS but instead he said, Lets go. I was like where? Lets go party! We spent 3.5 yrs together & became super close. pic.twitter.com/uGVczKHPiI

Dr. Sian Leo Proctor (@DrSianProctor) March 28, 2020

Dr. Sian Proctor has a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science, a Masters degree in Geology, and a Ph.D. in Science Education, which has helped her serve as a geoscience and sustainability professor for over 22 years at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Along with that, shes an Open Educational Resource Coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District, the Vice President of Education at Star Harbor Space Academy, and an international Public Speaker.

Before Sian was elected to be a commercial astronaut, she was a science communication specialist who has completed four analog missions. These were the all-female Sensoria Mars 2020 mission at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA-funded Mars mission at HI-SEAS, the Mars Desert Research Station, and a Moon mission in the LunAres Habitat. Sian was also a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Program but got eliminated in the last round.

As if all this wasnt enough, the Dr. even has a TEDx talk called Eat Like a Martian and has published a cookbook titled Meals for Mars. Her motto is Space2Inspire, and she uses her Afrofuturism art to encourage conversations about the same, along with how more women of color can be included in the space industry. Sian wants to establish a J.E.D.I. (Just, Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive) space for everyone, which is why she was selected to be in Explorers Club 50: Fifty People Changing the World.

From what we can tell, Dr. Sian Proctor prefers to keep her love life private. However, as per a few reports, shes married to Stephen Borth, whom she met during her time at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Institute around 2012. Whatever the case may be, though, she seems perfectly content at the moment.

Read More: Is Jared Isaacman Married? Does He Have Kids?

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Inspiration4's Dr. Sian Proctor: Everything We Know About Her Parents, Family and Dating Life - The Cinemaholic

Sep 06, 2021 11:42 AMET

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Jacobswas selected as NASA's Agency-Level 2020 Small Business Industry Award (SBIA) Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year for NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Agency-Level award follows Jacobs' FY-20 Center-Level SBIA Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award at two NASA Centers: Langley Research Center (LaRC) and Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

"Jacobs' relationship with NASA goes back 60-plus years, and we truly value our longstanding collaboration to help to solve the most complex and hazardous challenges of space exploration," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions Executive Vice President and PresidentDawne Hickton. "As NASA's largest service provider, we are committed to providing integrated solutions in support of the agency's mission and the nation's space program."

Jacobs was nominated for its most recent award by NASA KSC, where the company serves as the prime contractor for NASA's Exploration Ground Systems program, responsible for the development and operations of flight vehicle components. The KSC nomination acknowledged Jacobs for its ground and flight application software team effortsin support of the Artemis programand critical missions toresupply the International Space Station, as well as overall service to the Test and Operations Support Contract.

NASA's goal of traversing space resonates strongly with Jacobs' workforce. As part of NASA's team at nine different facilities across the country (Wallops, Goddard, Langley, Kennedy, Marshall, Johnson, White Sands, Ames and Glenn), Jacobs is a provider and integrator of full lifecycle aerospace capability. This includes design and construction; base, mission and launch operations; sustaining capital maintenance; and secure and intelligent asset management, development, modification, and testing processes for fixed assets supporting national government, military, defense and NASA, as well as commercial space companies.

For more on how Jacobs is redefining what's possible, from launch to flight to splash down, visitwww.jacobs.com/insights/space-exploration.

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With$14 billionin revenue and a talent force of approximately 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visitjacobs.com

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NASA Names Jacobs Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year - Law.com

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which operates and maintains a helium storage reservoir, enrichment plant, and pipeline system not far from Tex-Air in Amarillo, Texas, once supplied over 40% of domestic demand for helium, but is in the process of decline. Various exploration projects in the US and Canada hope to result in new helium sources to ease concerns that the US will soon have to rely on overseas sources in Qatar and Russia to meet demand.

Jim Prowell, whose dad Jim Sr. founded the company as a welding supply business in 1952, runs Tex-Air with son Joe (President). Executive Vice-President Jim has seen enough in the business to recognize how significant a moment this is in the evolution of the helium market, and an opportunity for Tex-Air to become more than just a helium distributor.

Its going to be a huge change with the BLM, depending on the success of the exploration, Jim told gasworld. I think its a good thing for the industry overall, especially in the western US theres a lot of exploration right now that can be finished out and youll have some independent plants and as long as they dont do multi-year contracts with the majors at dirt cheap agreements. Weil Group, Desert Mountain Energy, Tumbleweed have all had some degree of success. I feel the eventual way to proceed in this business is to have your own source and be 100% vertically integrated. If we are to ever grow our business, and do more than nibble around the edges of what majors dont want, we will have to have our own source and refinery.

Pricing is one of the main reasons Jim and Joe are hoping to secure their own helium source.

Different geographical areas seem to have different pricing for helium from the same major producers, i.e. Messer, Air Products, Praxair, MATHESON Tri-Gas, Jim said. The prices are just all over the place. It makes it quite difficult in that we are sole product distributor, just of helium, so if I dont have a good supplier at a good price, it makes it extremely difficult to compete. Thats why we are looking to become vertically integrated and have our own source of supply to have a helium gas well, purification plants and trailer filling facilities.

Joe, who joined the family business in 2018 after serving in the US Navy and then as a Defense Contractor, is working with a partner to make the Prowell dream a reality.

With the gold rush all you needed was a spade, a floppy hat and pair of burlap sack overalls and you had a chance, but with helium its more like the gold rush for millionaires, Joe told gasworld.

I got an oil and gas attorney out of Amarillo to team up with us, Patrick Weir [of McCarn & Weir, P.C.], and with him we have been navigating the waters of what is the best way to find your own source of helium. Weve had meetings in Oklahoma, Texas, and weve hit a lot of speedbumps along the way. We looked at potentially acquiring a plant that was already built, but we finally came down to doing a bit of wildcatting, with the help of geologists to find the best area, and just go drill for helium. Then Covid happened.

After attending an energy capital conference in Dallas and speaking to investors and banks, the Prowells had a rethink of what they could do in the short term. The company has a fleet of jumbo gaseous tube trailers which are all configured the same, rated at 3,165 PSI, and hold approximately 163,000 SCF.Joe wanted to add a liquid trailer to the fleet before streamlining the companys production process further by securing its own source.

We then just focused on our distribution business and weve taken a couple steps to help us get better deals, Joe said. We wanted to either get into either the liquid helium business or get our own liquid helium trailer and build our own transfill plant here in Amarillo. But theres only one manufacturer of liquid trailers in the US, Gardner Cryogenics, theres over a year long wait to order one of these trailers too. But I found a used trailer in Denver, we bought it, had a new chassis fitted, and pretty soon they are going to start testing it, inspecting it, replacing valves. If that works out the plan is to invest in our own transfill plant in Amarillo and streamline the business that way. Hopefully that will allow us to be a little bit more competitive in such a volatile market where every one of the major industrial gas suppliers just decide what price its going to be today.

Plans arent on hold to find their own helium source for Tex-Air, they are just evolving.

My partner in exploration, a company called Five Nines Energy, LLC, and I are having meetings again about potentially acquiring some wells, Joe said. The demand for helium is only going to go up so we do need to find a way to increase supply otherwise the price of helium is going to skyrocket. I love space exploration and I want Star Trek to be real one day, but I also want early cancer detection and MRIs to be affordable to anybody. I dont want to see helium pricing continue to go through the roof and people cant then afford an MRI because its too expensive and they die.

With demand for helium driven from high-tech applications, Jim believes supply could tighten again in 2022 before independent wells are started up.

I feel as if theres been a loosening of the market recently but its going to come to a screeching tightening around the first part of 2022, when I think the pricing is going to continue to stay high, the amount of product that is coming to market is going to be throttled back for a variety of factors, Jim said.

If those new fields in Canada and the US dont come to fruition to some volume that makes sense, and if they market that product all to the major industrial gas suppliers, then that cartel is going to control the pricing of the product to keep it extremely high. Thats just the law of supply and demand. I think there will be opportunities for independents like Tex Air, which you can count on one hand.

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Is this the way? | Features | gasworld - gasworld

ExplorSpace Technologies, an Australian company which develops healthcare solutions forhuman space exploration, has signed an MoU withispaceand Stardust Technologiesto build a moon rover with a multipurpose robotics arm.

ExplorCEO Dr Joshua Chou also a researcher and senior lecturer at UTS FEIT School of Biomedical Engineering will contribute to the technology which will be launched onan international lunar missionin2023.

The robotic arm would providehaptic feedback for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) educational purposes and equipped with a 3D camera, allowing people on Earth to experience the mission in virtual reality.

ExplorandStardust willequip the robotic arm and 3D camera, whileispacewilldevelop the rover as a future generation model.

We are very excited and proud of this MoU,which again demonstrates the innovation from EXPLOR and the collaborative environment at UTS to support such a great demonstration of international collaboration to accelerate human space exploration,Chou said.

NSW ishome tosome ofthe best and brightest in space technology and advanced manufacturing, according toNSW minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres.

Were thrilled to see our homegrown technology reaching for the moon, he said.

The mission will showcase several space technologies and expertise from NSW businesses and researchers ranging from communication, data transfer, remote operation and robotics.

This kind of collaboration is necessary to accelerate interest in lunar resources utilisation among a broad spectrum of stakeholders, ispace CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said.

In order for humanity to succeed in space,it is vital that we establish partnerships such as this one which will ultimately benefit and empower countless of generations to come,Stardust Technologies founder and CEOJason Michaud said.

For more details of the collaboration on the moon rover, visit the ispace website here.

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Collaboration will build moon rover with robotic arm for 2023 mission - Manufacturers' Monthly

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ARKX - Market Data & News

Today, ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF Incs (CBOE: ARKX) stock fell $0.095, accounting for a 0.45% decrease. ARK ETF - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF opened at $21.00 before trading between $21.08 and $20.92 throughout Tuesdays session. The activity saw ARK ETF - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETFs market cap fall to $614,222,000 on 222,614 shares -below their 30-day average of 270,199.

Visit ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF's profile for more information.

CBOE operates the largest options exchange and the third largest stock exchange in the U.S. CBOE runs a total of four separate stock exchanges that it acquired through the acquisition of Bats Global Markets in 2017. Collectively, these exchanges account for about 17% of total US equities volume.

To get more information on ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF and to follow the company's latest updates, you can visit the company's profile page here: ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF's Profile. For more news on the financial markets be sure to visit Equities News. Also, don't forget to sign-up for the Daily Fix to receive the best stories to your inbox 5 days a week.

Sources: Chart is provided by TradingView based on 15-minute-delayed prices. All other data is provided by IEX Cloud as of 8:05 pm ET on the day of publication.

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ARK ETF - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) falls 0.45% in Light Trading on August 31 - Equities.com

Christopher Hanks Sembroski has made numerous headlines these past few months due to his involvement in SpaceXs Inspiration4, the first-ever all-civilian spaceflight, where he not only serves as the Mission Specialist but also represents generosity. The 42-year-old wasnt the person initially chosen from the donation to St. Judes lottery, but hes managed to make the most of it.

A close friend of Chris was selected, but as they had prior commitments, they made a recommendation, and officials agreed. So now that he has also featured on Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, lets find out more about Chris Sembroski, shall we?

Christopher Chris Sembroski, who has received the call sign of Hanks, was born in August 1979 to Gwen and Steve Sembroski. He primarily grew up in the city of Kannapolis, North Carolina (where his parents still reside) and developed an interest in STEM materials at a very young age. In fact, after attending A.L. Brown High School, when Gwen landed a stable job in the Charlotte region, Chris went on to study and graduate from Durhams North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in 1997.

Chris work in ProSpace, the United States Air Force, and degrees in Electronics Engineering and Professional Aeronautics further prove his passion. Thus, when Chris parents heard that his dream of going to space was now a close reality, they were extremely happy for him. Im still in awe of it. Awe and shock, Steve said. I just love the fact that hes getting an opportunity to have an adventure of his lifetime.

Like any parent would, they want their son to be okay, yet theyre not too nervous because Chris is not, and they also understand that space exploration has come a long way. There is an inherent risk, of course, but so is driving down the highway. His father then added, Gwen and I are extremely proud of him, and happy for him that he has this amazing opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.

Chris Sembroski is happily married to Erin Duncan-Sembroski, who seems to be a teacher in a school at Mukilteo School District in Washington State, where the couple resides. On the other hand, Chris works in the aerospace industry as a Commercial Astronaut as well as a Machine Fault Detection and Diagnostics Lead. From what we can tell, the couple met in Montana at a friends home shortly after graduating college, and the very first thing Chris did was ask Erin if she had watched the Space Shuttle launch that day.

Since Chris was also in an old space camp T-shirt, Erin thought he was a complete nerd, but she was also charmed by his personality and aspirations. Chris and Erin ultimately tied the knot, and even though they prefer to keep their personal lives well out of the limelight, in Netflixs Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, he revealed that they are parents to two beautiful daughters. Their names or any other details are not known, but its evident the girls are the couples top priority.

Knowing that her husband loves space and every aspect surrounding it, Erin supports him to the best of her abilities. Except, her fears do rise up when she thinks about the risks involved. Thats why she has indicated that shell probably only grasp the extent of what Chris has achieved once hes safely back on Earth on September 18, 2021.

Read More: Dr. Sian Proctor: Everything We Know

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Who Is Inspiration4's Christopher Sembroski's Wife? Does He Have Kids? Who Are His Parents? - The Cinemaholic

Updated Fri 4:00 PM

IRELAND HAS PLAYED a real part in the advancement of space science and technology in Europe and there are plenty more opportunities out there.

So, how long before we have an Irish astronaut? Does Ireland really have a place in space?Should Ireland contribute more to the European Space Agency? We answer these questions and more with the help of our special guest, space commentator,Leo Enright.

The Good Information Project has been looking at Ireland and the EUs role in space exploration, and during todays Open Newsroom we delved into some of our recent research andtackled the questions sent in by readers.

You can catch up on the series so far here.

This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work is the authors own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.

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Open Newsroom: Everything you want to know about space with Leo Enright - TheJournal.ie

The Diplomat reported on Sept. 4 that South Koreas first lunar orbiter will be launched in August next year in cooperation with NASA. On Aug. 30, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the lunar orbiter currently in the process of development is now equipped with NASAs high-precision camera for lunar surface research.

South Korea joined the Artemis Accords in May this year. The agreement concluded in 2017 by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is to build a lunar gateway by international cooperation. The high-precision camera of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter is to collect lunar surface data as a part of the accords.

Until recently, South Koreas space exploration programs were limited by U.S. missile guidelines on the ranges and weights of ballistic missiles and so on. South Koreas first artificial satellite was launched in 2013 in cooperation with Russia. The United States decide early this year to lift the guidelines and South Korea is planning to accelerate its space development programs.

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South Korea's First Lunar Orbiter to be Launched in August Next Year - BusinessKorea