4G on Moon: NASA and Nokia unites to set up high speed internet

An astronaut, wandering in space, directly tweets her selfies with the rover. This may soon be a reality!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Nokia are planning to set up a 4G network on the Moon.

NASA has awarded Nokia of the US $14.1 million to deploy a 4G cellular network on the moon. The grant is part of $370 million worth of contracts signed under NASA’s “Tipping Point” selections, meant to advance research and development for space exploration.

According to NASA, the idea to install 4G/5G network on the Moon is inspired by “terrestrial technology”.

“The system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds and provide more reliability than current standards,” NASA noted in its contract award announcement.

This is not Nokia’s first attempt to launch an LTE network on the moon. It was planned to do this in 2018 in collaboration with PTScientists, a German space company, and Vodafone UK to launch an LTE network at the site of the Apollo 17 landing, but the mission never got off the ground.