South Korea's first lunar mission set for blast-off

South Korea plans to launch a lunar probe for the first time in the country's history later Thursday.

A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket will send the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) into space from Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida.

The launch is scheduled for 7:08 pm (2308 GMT), with a backup opportunity available on Friday, SpaceX said.

The 678-kilogramme spacecraft, with a planned minimum operating time of one year, will orbit the moon and collect data on its surface. It contains six different instruments to conduct surveys for water and other elements.

The KPLO is a collaboration between the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and other institutes in South Korea as well as the US space agency NASA.

South Korea is working to advance an ambitious space programme. In June, it successfully launched satellites for civilian use into Earth's orbit for the first time using a domestically-built launch vehicle. The country is also a signatory to NASA's Artemis programme to explore the moon.