Dial ‘M’ for Moon – Nokia’s cellular network on the moon’s South Pole

Nokia Bell Labs will deploy the first cellular 4G/LTE network on the Moon’s South Pole during Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission scheduled for this year

While the mission is complex, the goal is simple. Nokia intends to prove that terrestrial cellular technologies that connect billions of smartphones on Earth can meet the critical communication needs of future missions to the Moon and Mars. To accomplish this, Nokia Bell Labs has completely reconceptualized the cellular network, engineering a highly resilient, fully integrated and extremely compact 4G/LTE system capable of operating autonomously under the harsh environmental conditions of the Moon.

The network will voyage to the Moon integrated into Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Athena and two lunar exploration vehicles. Once Athena touches down, the network will automatically deploy and configure itself, establishing high-capacity, high-performance links to Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover and Intuitive Machines’ Micro-Nova hopper. As these two vehicles explore the lunar surface, the network will allow mission operators to remotely pilot and command the rover and hopper, while streaming critical telemetry information back to mission control in Houston via Intuitive Machines’ direct-to-Earth link. The network will also carry real-time video feeds and high-definition images from both vehicles, potentially transmitting the first images of ice on the Moon’s surface.

Connect with the full deployment here