NASA To Fly South Korea's Cube Satellite In Artemis 2 Mission

JAKARTA NASA and the South Korean Space Agency (KASA) officially formed a partnership on Friday, May 2, 2025. Through this partnership, KASA's cube satellite will be included in the launch of Artemis 2.

Delivered by KASA Administrator, Youngbin Yoon, KASA has signed an Implementation Agreement to place CubeSat K-RadCube above Artemis 2. The signed agreement includes the responsibility and performance procedures of each party.

The agreement also discusses preparations for launch, launch, flight operations, and disposal that prioritize sustainability principles.

Through this partnership, both KASA and NASA hope to take advantage of the scientific data collected.

"Through this implementation agreement, we expect closer cooperation between the South Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KASA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) in the field of deep space exploration beyond the moon," Yoon said.

K-RadCube is a cube-shaped satellite that can measure cosmic radiation in Van Allen's radiation belt, the radiation region around Earth. By measuring this radiation, K-RadCube will analyze its radiation effects for astronauts.

NASA not only includes South Korean satellites into launch rides, but also provides an on-board environment with an adapted interface.

The plan is that KASA will hand over K-RadCube after its development and certification is completed in July 2025.

Please note that Artemis 2 is NASA's most important mission because the US space agency will pilot the first Orion Space Launch System (SLS) and spacecraft.

These rockets and spacecraft will play an important role in lunar exploration. On Artemis 2, NASA only sent four astronauts to circle the orbit, in contrast to the Artemis 3 mission which will land the next four people to the Moon's surface.