Today, it is common for most major smartphones to use 4G service, even though 5G networks are starting to take hold. However, I never thought I would hear that any level of cell service would be available outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, but technology continues to amaze me. Nokia and NASA have announced that they plan to install 4G on the lunar surface. Yes, that’s correct – there will be 4G service on the moon, and it will probably work better there than in my house.
“We’re over the moon to announce further details after being named by @NASA as a key partner to advance “ ‘Tipping Point’ ” technologies for the Moon,” read Nokia’s tweet from Oct. 19. “The pioneering innovations from @BellLabs will deploy the first LTE/4G communications system in space. https://nokia.ly/2T9sl9e.”
According to the Guardian, NASA employed Nokia to “deploy an ultra-compact, low-power, space-hardened” 4G wireless service as part of NASA’s plan to establish a long-term human habitation of the moon by 2030. Nokia was chosen as the primary lunar 4G service supplier because its system could “support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds, and provide more reliability than current standards,” NASA stated. According to Reuters, the 4G network will allow the astronauts to communicate with voice and video, exchange biometric and telemetry data and deploy and control robotic devices such as lunar rovers.
They are hoping to remotely install the 4G service by late 2022 using a lunar hopper built by Intuitive Machines. According to a representative from Nokia, the 4G will be able to be updated to a 5G service in the future.
The plan in question is the Artemis program, and the American space agency aims to send the first woman and next man by 2024 to the moon. The two astronauts will be tasked with completing various experiments in hopes of NASA developing its first human mission to Mars, the Guardian reports.
In addition to the 4G service development for the lunar surface, NASA has also paid 14 other companies millions of dollars to provide other technologies for the mission, including robotics and new methods for life-sustaining resource harvesting, according to the Guardian.
“Leveraging our rich and successful history in space technologies, from pioneering satellite communication to discovering the cosmic microwave background radiation produced by the Big Bang, we are now building the first ever cellular communications network on the Moon,” chief technology officer at Nokia and Nokia Bell Labs president Marcus Weldon said. “By building the first high performance wireless network solution on the Moon, Nokia Bell Labs is once again planting the flag for pioneering innovation beyond the conventional limits.”
The lunar 4G service will contain a base station with an integrated evolved packet core functionality, meaning voice and data can be converged on the same network. It will also feature LTE user equipment (such as smartphones and laptops), RF antennas (an input used to connect a cable TV wire) and operations and maintenance control software (used to manage resources and equipment).
Nokia is sticking with 4G as opposed to 5G because of its proven reliability, robustness, scalability and ability to be deployed. Also, 4G is a “proven commercial technology” and has a large pool of suppliers and users.
This announcement is certainly a shock to me, and I’m hoping for some delicious memes about the cell service connection in space. It’ll definitely be better there than on Earth, right?
