The government will begin to explore outer space from 2017.

It will focus on developing independent satellite and launcher technologies through 2016, following a decision to shift the focus of national space projects to securing key technologies.

The Science and Technology Ministry projects three-point-eight trillion won will go into the new space development plan over the next ten years.

A ministry official says that if space projects thus far have been centered on satellite-based observation of planet Earth, they will see from 2017 an expansion targeting celestial objects other than the Earth such as the moon.

The estimated three-point-eight trillion won for the ten-year basic plan will be used to expand existing projects and launch new ones. The plan is expected to require a workforce of 36-hundred people.