With competition among Earth’s telecoms as fierce as ever, equipment maker Nokia Oyj on Monday announced its expansion into a new market, winning a deal to install the first cellular network on the moon.
The Finnish equipment manufacturer said it was selected by NASA to deploy an “ultra-compact, low-power, space-hardened” wireless 4G network on the lunar surface, as part of the US space agency’s plan to establish a long-term human presence on the moon by 2030.
The US$14.1 million contract, awarded to Nokia’s US subsidiary, is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman, and next man, to the moon by 2024.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The astronauts are to begin carrying out detailed experiments and explorations, which the agency hopes would help it develop its first human mission to Mars.
Nokia’s network equipment is to be installed remotely on the moon’s surface using a lunar hopper built by Intuitive Machines LLC in late 2022, Nokia said.
“The network will self-configure upon deployment,” it said in a statement, adding that the wireless technology would allow for “vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.”
The 4G equipment can be updated to a super-fast 5G network, Nokia said.
In all, NASA last week announced that it would distribute US$370 million to 14 companies to supply “tipping point” technologies for its mission, which include robotics and new methods of harvesting the resources required for living on the moon, such as oxygen and energy sources.
The bulk of the funding went to companies researching cryogenic propellants, freezing liquids used to fuel spacecraft.
Among them, Elon Musk’s SpaceX received US$53.2 million for a demonstration of the transferring of 10 tonnes of liquid oxygen between tanks on a starship vehicle, NASA said.
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