Nokia to Bring 4G Network to the Moon

Nokia is gearing up to bring 4G internet to the moon.

The telecommunications company was chosen by NASA in 2020 to build the first lunar cellular network.

SpaceX rockets will be used to transport the communication infrastructure to the moon’s surface, with the network base to be attached to a Nova-C lunar lander. A solar-powered rover from Lunar Outpost will also be deployed, used to communicate with the lander. 

The area selected for the communications base will also serve as the landing area for future Artemis missions, with the network hoped to make these missions easier to monitor and manage.

“The network will provide critical communication capabilities for many different data transmission applications,” Nokia said in a statement. “Including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.”

“For any sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars in the future, connectivity and communications are critical,” said Thierry E. Klein, Nokia’s Bell Labs’ president. “Astronauts will need the same advanced capabilities that we have on Earth in space to support their activities and run their applications, whether that is enabling voice and video communications capabilities, telemetry and biometric data exchange, sensing applications or controlling robotics.”

As well as communication capabilities, the lunar network is also hoped to be used to find resources such as ice on the moon.

Previous missions have discovered ice contained within craters on the moon’s surface. This resource could provide potentially crucial drinking water for astronauts, or be broken up into hydrogen and oxygen and used to make rocket fuel.

Nokia showcased some of its lunar network technologies at this year’s Mobile World Congress, where audiences could explore an in-depth exhibition of the company’s lunar mission.