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NASA has announced that it intends to fund a project with Nokia to build a 4G cellular communication network on the Moon. NASA plans to contribute $ 14.1 million to the project. Nokia’s stake is part of $ 370 million in new contracts for lunar surface research missions announced Wednesday. Most of the money went to contracts with the United Launch Alliance and SpaceX to figure out how to make and handle rocket fuel in space.
The agency wants to develop new technologies for the moon quickly as part of its goal to have astronauts working on a lunar base by 2028. NASA intends to return humans to the moon by 2024. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that NASA needs long-lasting power systems on the moon’s surface and habitable capacity on the lunar surface.
A way to communicate on the moon’s surface is also important, and that would certainly be found with a 4G system on the moon. The lunar communication project was awarded to Nokia of North America, which is owned by Finnish parent company Nokia. The 4G network would support lunar surface communications over longer distances and higher speeds, while being more reliable than current standards.
The service will allow communications between lunar landers, rovers, habitats and astronauts. The system can also be used for spaceships. The funding will allow Nokia to examine how terrestrial technology can be modified for the lunar environment.
It is unclear when or if the 4G system would be built on the moon. NASA has yet to decide the exact landing site for future Artemis missions, but it is targeting a site near water ice deposits at the lunar South Pole.
