On March 5 and 6, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of a surfboard-shaped object passing by the moon. However, this object was not an alien spacecraft or UFO, but rather South Korea’s lunar orbiter Danuri. The two spacecraft were circling the moon in almost parallel orbits when the LRO team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center managed to photograph this unique encounter.
The LRO’s camera has a very short exposure time, but it was still able to capture images of Danuri, which became the first Korean spacecraft to reach lunar orbit in December 2022. Due to the speed difference between the two spacecraft, Danuri appeared to be stretched and resembled a flat surfboard in the images. In reality, Danuri is a box-shaped spacecraft with solar panels attached to each side.
Paul Byrne, an associate professor of planetary science at Washington University in St. Louis, shared the images on social media and clarified that Danuri is not actually a thin load of pixels, but a normal-looking orbiter that was distorted by the LRO’s camera due to the immense speeds involved. Some people even noted that Danuri bore a resemblance to the fictional character Silver Surfer from Marvel Comics.
This unique encounter between NASA’s lunar orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri provided an interesting and visually captivating moment for space enthusiasts around the world.
