Nokia, a prominent telecommunications company, is teaming up with SpaceX to launch a 4G internet network on the moon by the end of this year. This innovative project aims to boost lunar research and lay the groundwork for future human presence on our natural satellite.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia’s chief engineer, Luis Maestro Ruiz De Temino, announced that the Finnish company plans to implement the network via a SpaceX rocket in the coming months. The 4G network will include a base station with antennas located on a lunar module called Nova-C, designed by the US company Intuitive Machines, as well as a solar-powered rover.
An LTE connection will be created between the lunar module and the rover. The infrastructure will be deployed in the Shackleton crater, located at the lunar south pole. Nokia claims that the technology has been designed to withstand the harsh conditions of space.
Nokia intends to demonstrate that terrestrial networks can meet communication needs in future space missions by utilizing the network in NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. The network will allow for communication between astronauts and mission control on Earth, remote control of the rover, and real-time transmission of video and telemetry data.
Nokia’s lunar network has the goal of finding ice on the moon, which could be used for drinking, rocket fuel, or providing breathable oxygen for astronauts. Recent unmanned missions have discovered traces of ice in craters near the poles, despite the majority of the lunar surface being dry.
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