While organizations have been pursuing satellite administrations on planet Earth, it seems to be Nokia has been looking off-world towards the Moon, with purpose to send off a 4G LTE network before the year’s over in the event that all goes to design. This network will offer a means of “enhancing lunar discoveries” when it goes live. To launch its network into space, Nokia will collaborate with SpaceX.
According to report, Nokia will launch a system with three components into space: an “antenna-equipped base station stored in a Nova-C lunar lander designed by U.S. space firm Intuitive Machines, as well as by an accompanying solar-powered rover.” If you are not familiar, the lander is a protective vessel that carries the rover and holds it so that it can safely land on a planet or moon. The rover can move around and send data back to its base once the lander has, well, landed. The lander and the rover will both have access to the LTE connection.
To the extent that where Nokia will lay its case, the firm will make its most memorable LTE network on the Shackleton cavity that lies close to the south pole of the Moon. According to NASA, temperatures on the moon can reach as high as 250 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as -208 degrees Fahrenheit. As you can probably imagine, these temperatures are significantly lower than those on Earth. Although space tourists could probably use the network to upload TikToks and Instagram Reels to the moon, this probably won’t happen for a long time.
NASA will use this network for the time being as a kind of testing ground to see if the cellular technology we’ve relied on for years can actually be used in space.
The technology will be used to communicate with astronauts and, of course, return crucial data to Earth-based mission control. Although Nokia is prepared to establish its network on the Moon, there are numerous moving parts, so meeting this deadline will really depend on its partners.