South Korea Plans Mars Landing In 2045 As It Launches Space Agency
South Korea plans to make a Mars landing by 2045 and will spend $72.6 billion on space exploration over the next two decades, then-President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the launch of the country’s first space agency in mid-2024.
The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) will lead the country’s “space economy,” with hundreds of businesses and enterprises working to catapult South Korea into one of the world’s top five space powers, Yoon said.
“KASA will usher in a new space era by cultivating experts while intensively supporting the aerospace industry ecosystem and fostering challenging and innovative” research and development, he said. The country’s first lunar landing is planned for 2032.
South Korea became the seventh country to domestically manufacture a space launch vehicle and satellite technology with the May 2023 launch of the Nuri rocket, which placed a commercial-grade satellite in orbit.
Seoul plans at least three more space launches by 2027 and expects to launch additional military satellites.
In January 2024, Japan became the
fifth country to place a lander on the moon. India was the fourth nation to do so the previous year.
Japan also plans a rover mission to Mars. Reuters
