Nokia is building a 4G network on the moon

To facilitate communication between people on the moon and Earth and remote control vehicles, Nokia, together with NASA and SpaceX, will provide the moon with 4G networks. Nokia has developed the fourth generation equipment that will be sent to the moon via SpaceX this year. The equipment is specifically designed to survive the fairly harsh environment of the Moon.

The network will provide critical communications capability for a wide range of applications, including critical command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation, and high-definition video streaming. All of these applications are essential for a long-term human presence on the moon. – Nokia

The network will be powered by a base station located on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander, accompanied by a solar-powered rover and connected to the base station. Nokia and the gang plan to land the lunar lander on Shackleton Crater near the moon’s south pole, which has been selected for a large number of sunlight hours to power the device.

The project to extend the 4G network to the moon has been underway since 2020 and is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send the first humans since 1972 to the moon. With Nokia’s equipment in place, it is expected not only to facilitate communication, but also to facilitate the search and drilling of ice at the north and south poles of the moon, which requires robust infrastructure.

Will the Moon get better mobile coverage than Abisko?