Written by: Katie Scott, business reporter Brainz Magazine
Finish Telecoms giant, Nokia, has unveiled plans to launch 4G internet connectivity on the moon this year.
Luis Maestro Ruiz De Temino, Nokia’s principal engineer, has told journalists at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona that the launch is part of Nasa’s Artemis 1 mission. This mission hopes to put humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972.
CNBC reports that the network is hoped will “...enhance lunar discoveries — and eventually pave the path for human presence on the satellite planet.”
The launch is planned for the coming months and will use a SpaceX rocket. Once on the Moon, the network will be powered by a base station, which is stored in a Nova-C lunar lander itself designed by US firm Intuitive Machines, as well as by an accompanying solar-powered rover. The rover and lander are hoped will be able to communicate using an LTE connection.
In a statement published before the event, Nokia said that its lunar network will “provide critical communication capabilities for many different data transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.”
