Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Space missions for astronomy and astrophysics in Korea: past, present, and future

  • Review
  • Published:
Journal of the Korean Physical Society Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We review the history of space missions in Korea focusing on the field of astronomy and astrophysics. For each mission, scientific motivation and achievement are reviewed together with some technical details of the program, including mission schedule. This review includes ongoing and currently approved missions, as well as some planned ones. Within the admitted limitations of the authors’ perspectives, some comments on the future direction of the space program for astronomy and astrophysics in Korea are made at the end of this review.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
Fig. 24
Fig. 25
Fig. 26
Fig. 27
Fig. 28
Fig. 29
Fig. 30
Fig. 31

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. https://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov.

  2. https://www.nasa.gov/missions.

  3. ISAS was an independent organization that belonged to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Education of Japan until 2005 when ISAS, National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) and National Space Development Agency (NASDA) merged into Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Currently, ISAS is a part of JAXA.

  4. https://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/data/AKARI/documentation/AKARI-IRCPSCV1RN.pdf.

  5. http://darts.isas.jaxa.jp/astro/akari/cas/index.html.

References

  1. E.H.T. Collaboration et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 875, L1 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. J. Edelstein et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L159 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. J. Edelstein et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L153 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. J. Lee et al., J. Astronomy Space Sci. 31, 311 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. C.F. McKee, J.P. Ostriker, Astrophys. J. 218, 148 (1977)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. J. Spitzer, Lyman. Astrophys. J. 124, 20 (1956)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Y.-S. Jo et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 243, 9 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Y.-S. Jo, K.-I. Seon, K.-W. Min, J. Edelstein, W. Han, Astrophys. J. Supp. 231, 21 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. D. Hollenbach, E.E. Salpeter, Astrophys. J. 163, 155 (1971)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. J.M. Shull, S. Beckwith, Ann. Rev. Astro. Astrophy. 20, 163 (1982)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. A. Sternberg, Astrophys. J. 347, 863 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. R.C. Bohlin, B.D. Savage, J.F. Drake, Astrophys. J. 224, 132 (1978)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. B.L. Rachford et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 180, 125 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. I.-J. Kim, K.-I. Seon, K.-W. Min, W. Han, J. Edelstein, Astrophys. J. 761, 135 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. S. Bowyer, Ann. Rev. Astro. Astrophy. 29, 59 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. R.C. Henry, Ann. Rev. Astro Astrophy. 29, 89 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. K.-I. Seon et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 196, 15 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. K.-I. Seon et al., Astrophys. J. 743, 188 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. K.-I. Seon, A.N. Witt, Astrophys. J. 758, 109 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. K.I. Seon et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L175 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. K. Nishikida et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L171 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. J.H. Shinn et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L189 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. J.-H. Shinn et al., Astrophys. J. 670, 1132 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. I.J. Kim et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 665, L139 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. I.J. Kim, K.W. Min, K.I. Seon, W. Han, J. Edelstein, Astrophys. J. 709, 823 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. I.J. Kim et al., Astrophys. J. 722, 388 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. I.-J. Kim et al., Astrophys. J. 784, 12 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. J. Kregenow et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L167 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. J.W. Park et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 665, L39 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. K. Ryu et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 678, L29 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. B.Y. Welsh et al., Astron. Astrophys. 472, 509 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Y.-S. Jo, K.-W. Min, T.-H. Lim, K.-I. Seon, Astrophys. J. 756, 38 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. Y.-S. Jo, K.-W. Min, K.-I. Seon, Astrophys. J. 807, 68 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. J.W. Park, K.W. Min, K.I. Seon, W. Han, J. Edelstein, Astrophys. J. 719, 1964 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Y.-J. Choi et al., Astrophys. J. 774, 34 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Y.-J. Choi, K.-W. Min, K.-I. Seon, Astrophys. J. 800, 132 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. D.H. Lee et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L181 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. K. Ryu et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 644, L185 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. D.H. Lee et al., Astrophys. J. 686, 1155 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. S.J. Park et al., Astrophys. J. 700, 155 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. S.J. Park et al., Astrophys. J. 754, 10 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. T.-H. Lim, K.-W. Min, K.-I. Seon, Astrophys. J. 765, 107 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. T.-H. Lim, Y.-S. Jo, K.-I. Seon, K.-W. Min, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 449, 605 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. Y.-S. Jo et al., Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 456, 417 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  45. W. Han et al., Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 126, 853 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. D.-H. Lee et al., J. Astron. Space Sci. 29, 305 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  47. J. Opt. Soci. Am. (1917–1983) 6, 245 (1970)

  48. B. Moon et al., Development of mechanical structure for the compact space IR camera MIRIS, in Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave. ed. by J.M.O. Jr, M.C. Clampin, H.A. MacEwen, volume 7731, (SPIE, International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2010), pp. 653–661

  49. I.-J. Kim et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 238, 28 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  50. Y. Onishi et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 70, 76 (2018)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. D.P. Finkbeiner, Astrophys. J. Supp. 146, 407 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. D.C. Martin et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 619, L1 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. Y.-W. Lee et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 619, L103 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  54. C.H. Ree et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 173, 607 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  55. S.K. Yi et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 619, L111 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. K. Schawinski et al., Nature 442, 888 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  57. S.-S. Hong et al., Public. Korean Astron. Soc. 11, 1 (1996)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  58. G. Neugebauer, H. Habing, Nature 305, 578 (1983)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  59. M.W. Werner et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 154, 1 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  60. H. Murakami et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 59, S369 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. M. Kawada et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 59, S389 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. T. Onaka et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 59, S401 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Y. DOI et al., Public. Korean Astron. Soc. 27, 111 (2012)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  64. Y. Doi et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 67, 50 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  65. H. Matsuhara et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 58, 673 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  66. Y. Ita et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 60, S435 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. T. Nakagawa, I. Yamamura, Public. Korean Astron. Soc. 32, 5 (2017)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  68. D. Ishihara et al., Astron. Astrophys. 514, A1 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. I. Yamamura et al., Release of the AKARI-FIS Bright Source Catalogue \(\beta\)-1, in AKARI, a Light to Illuminate the Misty Universe, edited by T. Onaka, G. J. White, T. Nakagawa, and I. Yamamura, volume 418 of Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, page 3, (2009)

  70. I. Yamamura et al., The First release of the AKARI-FIS Bright Source Catalogue, in American Institute of Physics Conference Series, edited by T. Usuda, M. Tamura, and M. Ishii, volume 1158 of American Institute of Physics Conference Series, pages 169–170, (2009)

  71. D. Kato et al., Astron. J. 144, 179 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  72. T. Takagi et al., Astron. Astrophys. 537, A24 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. S.J. Kim et al., Astron. Astrophys. 548, A29 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. W.-S. Jeong et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 55, 717 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  75. H.M. Lee et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 59, S529 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. W.S. Jeong et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 59, S429 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. B.C. Koo et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 59, S455 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  78. N. Hwang et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 172, 583 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  79. Y. Jeon et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 190, 166 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  80. H. Shim et al., Astrophys. J. Supp. 207, 37 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  81. H. Shim et al., Mon (Not. Roy. Astron, Soc, 2020)

  82. J.Y. Seok et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 60, S453 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. H.D. Jun et al., Astrophys. J. 806, 109 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  84. J. Pyo et al., Astron. Astrophys. 523, A53 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. J. Ko et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 695, L198 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  86. H.J. Seo et al., Astrophys. J. 807, 140 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  87. R. Willingale, P. Mészáros, Space. Sci. Rev. 207, 63 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  88. T. Piran, Rev. Mod. Phys. 76, 1143 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  89. N. Gehrels et al., Astrophys. J. 611, 1005 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  90. P.W.A. Roming et al., Space. Sci. Rev. 120, 95 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  91. I. H. Park et al., arXiv e-prints, arXiv:0912.0773 (2009)

  92. I.H. Park et al., New J. Phys. 15, 023031 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  93. S. Jeong et al., Space. Sci. Rev. 214, 16 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  94. S. Jeong et al., Opt. Express 21, 2263 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  95. J.E. Kim et al., J. Instrum. 8, P07012 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  96. G. Gaikov et al., Opt. Express 25, 29143 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  97. V.A. Sadovnichii et al., Space. Sci. Rev. 212, 1705 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  98. I.H. Park et al., Space. Sci. Rev. 214, 14 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  99. W.-S. Jeong et al., Proc. SPIE 10698, 1069822 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  100. P.M. Korngut et al., Proc. SPIE 10698, 106981U (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  101. H. Seo et al., Astrophys. J. 807, 140 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  102. M.G. Kim et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jap. 71, 82 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  103. O. Doré et al., arXiv e-prints, arXiv:1606.07039 (2016)

  104. O. Doré et al., arXiv e-prints, arXiv:1805.05489 (2018)

  105. R.M.E. Illing, A.J. Hundhausen, J. Geophys. Res. 90, 275 (1985)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  106. S. Yashiro et al., J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys.) 109, A07105 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  107. R.S. Kim et al., Astrophys. J. 677, 1378 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  108. Y.M. Wang, J. Sheeley, Astrophys. J. 355, 726 (1990)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  109. R. Lionello, J.A. Linker, Z. Mikić, Astrophys. J. 546, 542 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  110. L.E. Cram, Sol. Phys. 48, 3 (1976)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  111. K. Ichimoto et al., Pub. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 48, 545 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  112. N.L. Reginald, O.C.S. Cyr, J.M. Davila, J.W. Brosius, Astrophys. J. 599, 596 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  113. N. Reginald, O. St. Cyr, J. Davila, L. Rastaetter, T. Török, Sol. Phys. 293, 82 (2018)

  114. K.-S. Cho et al., J. Korean Astron. Soc. 53, 87 (2020)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  115. K.S. Cho et al., J. Korean Astron. Soc. 50, 139 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  116. N. Gopalswamy, Q. Gong, A small satellite mission for solar coronagraphy, in CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing II. ed. by T.S. Pagano, C.D. Norton, volume 10769, (SPIE, International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2018), pp. 257–267

  117. K.-S. Cho et al., arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2102.02085 (2021)

  118. N. Gopalswamy et al., Sol. Phys. 296,15 (2021)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  119. J.J. Lee et al., Ann. Geophys. 30, 1567 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  120. C.P. Escoubet, M. Fehringer, M. Goldstein, Ann. Geophys. 19, 1197 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  121. V. Angelopoulos, Space. Sci. Rev. 141, 5 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  122. J.L. Burch, T.E. Moore, R.B. Torbert, B.L. Giles, Spa. Sci. Rev. 199, 5 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  123. R. Lukianova, V. Frolov, A. Ryabov, Geophys. Res. Lett. 46(12), 731 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  124. H.U. Auster et al., Space Sci. Rev. 141, 235 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  125. D.M. Miles et al., J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys.) 121, 11839 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  126. N. Werner et al., CAMELOT: Cubesats Applied for MEasuring and LOcalising Transients mission overview, in Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, volume 10699 of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, page 106992P, (2018)

  127. U.-W. Nam, C.-S. Choi, J. Astron. Space Sci. 15, 373 (1998)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to congratulate the Astrophysics Division of the Korean Physical Society (KPS) on its 25th anniversary and to give special thanks that this review is included in the special issue. FIMS/SPEAR was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Korea) and NASA (USA). The FIMS/SPEAR mission was a joint project of KASI, KAIST, and the University of California at Berkeley (USA). MIRIS was supported by a National Research Foundation (NRF) grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of Korea (2014M1A3A3A02034746). YWL acknowledges the support from the NRF of Korea (2017R1A2B3002919). GALEX was a NASA Small Explorer, launched in April 2003. We gratefully acknowledge NASA’s support for construction, operation, and science analysis for the GALEX mission, developed in cooperation with the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales of France and the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. The Korean participation in AKARI was supported by the Phase 1 BK21 program, KOSEF-JSPS Cooporative Program, and NRF grants (2006-0093852, 2012R1A4A1028713). MBK and IHP acknowledge the support from the NRF of Korea (2018R1A2A1A05022685, 2017K1A4A3015188). WSJ acknowledges the support from a NRF grant funded by MSIT of Korea (2018M1A3A3A02065645). The NGC mission has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Korea) and NASA (USA). The BITSE and the CODEX projects were joint projects of KASI and NASA (USA). KK acknowledges the support from a NRF grant of Korea (2016R1A5A1013277).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronomy and Space Science Major, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea

    Kwang-Il Seon (FIMS/SPEAR)

  2. Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon, 34055, Republic of Korea

    Kwang-Il Seon (FIMS/SPEAR), Wonyong Han (MIRIS), Hyung Mok Lee (AKARI), Woong-Seob Jeong (NISS and SPHEREx), Kyung-Suk Cho (NGC), Jae Jin Lee (SNIPE) & Dae-Hee Lee (UVOMPIS)

  3. Department of Astronomy and Center for Galaxy Evolution Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

    Young-Wook Lee (GALEX)

  4. SNU Astronomy Research Center, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-rho, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Hyung Mok Lee (AKARI)

  5. Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Min Bin Kim (UFFO) & I. H. Park

  6. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea

    Dae-Hee Lee (UVOMPIS)

  7. Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea

    Kyujin Kwak

Authors
  1. Kwang-Il Seon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wonyong Han (MIRIS)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Young-Wook Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hyung Mok Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Min Bin Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. I. H. Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Woong-Seob Jeong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Kyung-Suk Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Jae Jin Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Dae-Hee Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Kyujin Kwak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

KS: contributed to FIMS/SPEAR; WH: contributed to MIRIS; Y-WL: contributed to GALEX; HML: contributed to AKARI; MBK: contributed to UFFO; W-SJ: contributed to NISS and SPHEREx; K-SC: contributed to NGC; JJL: contributed to SNIPE; and D-HL: contributed to UVOMPIS.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyujin Kwak.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The authors contributing to individual missions are the co-first authors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seon, KI., Han, W., Lee, YW. et al. Space missions for astronomy and astrophysics in Korea: past, present, and future. J. Korean Phys. Soc. 78, 942–971 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40042-021-00166-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40042-021-00166-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation