• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.836-843
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• 2017

In lunar exploration, the necessity of utilizing rover is verified by the examples of the Soviet Union and China and the similar Mars missions of the United States. In order to achieve the successful management of a lunar rover, a high precision navigation technique is required, and accordingly, high precision initial alignment is essential. Even though it is general to perform initial alignment in a steady state, a multiposition alignment technique is applied when high performance is needed. On the lunar surface, however, the performance of initial alignment decreases from that on Earth, and it cannot be improved by applying multiposition alignment method owing to certain constraints of lunar environment. In this paper, a sun sensor aided multiposition alignment technique is proposed. The measurement model for a sun vector is established, and its observability analysis is performed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified through computer simulations, and the results show the estimation performance is improved dramatically.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.245-254
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• 2010

Technology of surface investigation using X-ray is one of widely used technology nowadays. This technique has been numerously used for planetary surface investigations for both orbital and rover scientific instruments. Korea has a plan to send an orbiter and lander to the Moon by the early 2020s. Therefore, the time has come for Korean researchers to develop major scientific instruments and start to do research on basic research for the Moon. Because of this situation, we firstly investigate X-ray technology, which is essential as one of core techniques of planetary remote sensing from the orbit and ground. This paper presents the current status of planetary exploration using X-ray techniques and new development of worldwide X-ray technology which could be adapted for prospective planetary missions.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-25
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• 1981

This paper is a literature review on the following subjects: 1) relationships between porphyry molybdenum and copper systems; 2) hydrothermal environments of molybdenite depositions; 3) genetic significance of molybdenite polyforms; and 4) trace element patterns in molybdenite useful as an exploration guide. The geologic similarities between porphyry molybdenum (e. g. Climax) and porphyry copper (e. g. Bingham) systems exist, and similar techniques can be applied for exploring deposits of either type. Several features suggest that tungsten and tin may form porphyry-like systems (i. e. lowgrade, large tonnage). The clustering of porphyry-like systems in geophysically distinctive batholithic provinces is well documented and provides larger targets for reconnaissance exploration. Geochemical studies suggest that uranium should often occur in close proximity to molybdenum ores in igneous as well as sedimentary environments.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.26-43
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• 2023

As Korean first lunar probe, Danuri, succeeded in entering lunar orbit, Korean new space exploration plans such as Mars exploration can be expected. Korean space exploration payload is developed only in a limited field, so there is a need to create a new space exploration payload. In foreign countries, there is a mass spectrometer as a basic equipment for space exploration, and it is a very useful payload that encompasses the exploration of life through the analysis of organic matter as well as the observation of the atmosphere and volatile substances of the exploration target. However, Korea has never developed a mass spectrometer payload for space exploration, so it is necessary to secure technology in preparation for future space exploration. Before that, we look at the scientific achievements of foreign mass spectrometer payloads for space exploration and identify trends.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.479-486
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• 2018

In order to ensure reliable navigation performance of a lunar exploration rover, navigation algorithms using additional sensors such as inertial measurement units and cameras are essential on lunar surface in the absence of a global navigation satellite system. Unprecedentedly, Visual Odometry (VO) using a stereo camera has been successfully implemented at the US Mars rovers. In this paper, we estimate the 6-DOF pose of the lunar exploration rover from gray images of a lunar-like terrains. The proposed algorithm estimates relative pose of consecutive images by sparse image alignment based semi-direct VO. In order to overcome vulnerability to non-linearity of direct VO, we add adaptive motion prior weights calculated from a linear function of the previous pose to the optimization cost function. The proposed algorithm is verified in lunar-like terrain dataset recorded by Toronto University reflecting the characteristics of the actual lunar environment.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.64-75
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• 2021

On the moon as well as the earth, one of the easiest ways to understand geological formation history of any region is to observe the stratigraphy if it is available, the order in which the strata build up. By analyzing stratigraphy, it is possible to infer what geological events have occurred in the past. Mare Nubium also has an unique normal fault called Rupes Recta that shows stratigraphy. However, a rover moving with wheels is incompetent to explore the cliff since the Rupes Recta has an inclination of 10° - 30°. Therefore, a quadruped walking robot must be employed for stable expedition. To exploration a fault with a four-legged walking robot, it is necessary to design an expedition route by taking account of whether the stratigraphy is well displayed, whether the slope of the terrain is moderate, and whether there are obstacles and rough texture in the terrain based on the remote sensing data from the previous lunar missions. For the payloads required for fault surface exploration we propose an optical camera to grasp the actual appearance, a spectrometer to analyze the composition, and a drill to obtain samples that are not exposed outward.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.877-888
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• 2022

Recently, as the CAPSTONE, a precursor mission for Lunar Gateway, was launched on a small launch vehicle for the purpose of demonstrating communications and navigation technology in the NRHO, large attention was brought to this event that enabled high-impact deep space mission using dedicated small launch vehicle and small spacecraft. In this study, we introduced the concept of a dual launch operation and examined the capability of the new concept in the exploration of the Moon, Mars and asteroid. It turned out a single launch is sufficient for the lunar low orbit mission up to around 247 kg, and the dual launch option can transport 215 kg and 183 kg to nearby destinations as such as Mars and astroid Apophis respectively.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.323-336
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• 2019

The Mesozoic activity on the Korean Peninsula is mainly represented by the Triassic post-collisional, Jurassic orogenic, and Cretaceous post-orogenic igneous activities. The diversity of mineralization by each geological period came from various geothermal systems derived from the geochemical characteristics of magma with different emplacement depth. The Cretaceous metallic mineralization has been carried out over a wide range of time periods from ca. 115 to 45 Ma (main stage; ca. 100 to 60 Ma) related to post-orogenic igneous activity, and spatial distribution patterns of most metal deposits are concentrated along small granitic stocks. The late Cretaceous metal deposits in the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam massifs are generally distributed along the boundary among the Gongju-Eumseong fault system and the Yeongdong-Gwangju fault system and the Gyeongsang Basin, most of them are in the form of a distal epithermal~mesothermal Au-Ag vein or a transitional mesothermal Zn-Pb-Cu vein. On the other hand, diverse metal commodities in the Taebaeg Basin, the Okcheon metamorphic belt and the Gyeongsang Basin are produced from various deposit types such as skarn, carbonate-replacement, vein, porphyry, breccia pipe, and Carlin type. In the late Cretaceous metallic mineralization, various mineral deposits and commodities were induced not only by the pathway of the hydrothermal solution, but also by the diversity of precipitation environment in the proximity difference of the granitic rocks. The diversity of these types of Cretaceous deposits is fundamentally dependent on the geochemical characteristics such as degree of differentiation and oxidation state of related igneous rocks, and ore-forming fluids generally exhibit the evolutionary characteristics of intermediate- to low-sulfur hydrothermal fluids.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2000

The 1 $km^2$ area studied is located in Sukchun-ri, Hwasung-koon, the southern part of Kyeonggi-do. Even though this site has been known as a contaminated area caused by seawater intrusions, geophysical and geochemical surveys have never been carried out at the site to determine the extent of the seawater contamination and to investigate whether the seawater intrusion is in progress. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of seawater contamination and a preferred channel of the seawater intrusion using geophysical methods such as DC resistivity surveys with Schlumberger array and a dipole-dipole array. In order to determine whether the seawater intrusion is in progress in the area, DC resistivity monitoring with Schlumberger array was performed. According to the resistivity map obtained from the inversion of the resistivity data measured with Schlumberger array, the study area is divided into two districts as relatively lowly resistive (less than 30 ohm-m) and highly resistive (more than 30 ohm-m) areas. The distribution of the lowly resistive area is consistent with the distribution of the layer composed of clay minerals, and the resistivity of this layer decreases slowly as approaching to the old seashore. Hydrogeological analysis shows that the clay layer within a distance of about 200 m from the seashore has been already contaminated by sea-water and its electric conductivity is 8 times higher than that of the sand layer covered by the clay layer. According to the results of the 2-dimensional DC resistivity surveys with a dipole-dipole array, there are two preferred channels of the seawater intrusion in the site, and both the channels are in the NW-SE direction from the old seashore. The lowly resistive zone in the southern channel extends to a depth of 80 m. The DC resistivity monitoring with Schlumberger array was carried out along the preferred channel which has the low resistivity Bone (fracture zone) that extended to a depth of 80 m. The time series of apparent resistivity, measured at a distance of 260 m from the old coast line, fluctuates with a period of 12 hours. From these observations, it can be concluded that the seawater intrusion caused by tidal action is still in progress along the fractured zone interpreted by the DC resistivity surveys with a dipole-dipole array.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.407-415
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• 2010

MT soundings were carried out in 2008, in northern Victoria, Australia, as a continuing collaboration research of 2007 between Republic of Korea, Australia, and Japan. The main purpose of this research is to investigate electrical conductivity structure and thus help understanding of tectonic structure in central Victoria, which is believed to be closely linked to mineralization and magmatic processes of this region. The survey area is located in western Lachlan Fold Belts, which is the part of Tasman Fold Belts in southeastern Australia. An MT profile of 2008 is almost parallel to the one of 2007 and approximately 50 km away. The 2D inversion result of MT data also shows that the position of conductivity discontinuity near surface are well matched with the positions of major faults, such as Avoca Fault, which is the structural boundary between Stawell and Bendigo Zones, and Heathcote Fault Zone, which marks the boundary between Bendigo and Melbourne Zones. It is also confirmed from resistivity image that internal faults in Bendigo Zone are in listric form, which is implied to be formed by structural shortening during compressional orogenic activity in Silurian.