South Korea's first lunar orbiter, Danuri, has sent back photos of the Earth and the moon taken as it began its yearlong mission in lunar orbit.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute(KARI) released photos on Tuesday with a clear view of Earth as well as craters on the moon’s surface taken with a high-resolution camera onboard the orbiter known as the Lunar Terrain Imager. 

The first photo was captured on December 24 some 344 kilometers above the moon, with the second coming four days later at an altitude of 124 kilometers after settling into lunar orbit on December 27. Two others were taken on the last day of 2022 as well as New Year’s Day.

Photos of the moon's surface sent by Danuri will be used to select a landing site for a lunar module Korea plans to send by 2032.