Nine U.S. scientists will join South Korea's first lunar orbiter mission launching next year.

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in August 2022 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft will orbit the moon for about a year, representing South Korea's first space exploration mission to travel beyond Earth's orbit, according to a statement from NASA.

NASA announced on Tuesday (March 30) that it has selected nine U.S. scientists to join the mission as part of the agency's KPLO Participating Scientist Program. The new members will work with the spacecraft's five science instruments, which will take measurements of the lunar surface from orbit to learn more about the moon's environment and resources and to identify potential landing sites for future missions.