NASA’s Artemis (as in the twin sister of Apollo) program, which is seeking to return humans to the moon, has awarded a number of five-year contracts to several major players in the space and defense industry (including SpaceX and Lockheed Martin) to demonstrate the functionality of key infrastructure technologies on the moon’s surface. Nokia Bell Labs has been awarded a $14.1 million contract to bring the first-ever cellular network with 4G connectivity to the moon. This is part of NASA’s larger goal to use the moon as a forward operating base, and a stepping-stone for further exploration of our solar system.
We take basic infrastructure like power, shelter and connectivity to various networks for granted in our day-to-day lives (unless, of course, one of them is out and then it seems like our world is crumbling). The moon, however, lacks that kind of infrastructure, and bringing those resources to the moon would make lunar exploration, excavation and living a lot more bearable.
Aside from carrying basic voice and data signals like those found on Earth, the moon’s 4G network will have the capacity to handle remote operations such as controlling lunar rovers and various machinery from a distance, which will in turn allow astronauts to focus on mission objectives while their programmed equipment collects any necessary samples and to complete various other tasks from across the moon. The time saved here would be used to carry out experiments and explorations that will hopefully speed up the development of the first human mission to Mars.
The moon is a harsh, radiation-filled environment, as compared to the one found on Earth. This means that all equipment, including the various antennas and base stations, need to redesigned to be able to handle the various temperature extremes and other environmental hazards that are part of the lunar landscape.
Thierry Klein, head of the Enterprise & Industrial Automation Lab at Nokia Bell Labs, notes that not only does the communication equipment need to be ruggedized for the lunar environment, it also needs to be able to make its journey from Earth to the moon. “The equipment needs to be hardened for environmental stresses such as vibration, shock and acceleration, especially during launch and landing procedures, and the harsh conditions experienced in space and on the lunar surface.”
The lack of physical infrastructure may actually help the 4G signal on the moon. With no obstructions like buildings or trees (nor pesky atmosphere interference like on Earth), the signal will be able to reach over wider distances, with better signal quality than it ever could provide on our home planet.
The equipment will be installed remotely on the moon’s surface in late 2022 using a lunar hopper built by Intuitive Machines. Nokia notes that “the network will self-configure upon deployment,” adding that the addition of wireless technology to the moon will allow for “vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.”