UPDATE By the end of the decade, when NASA has set up an outpost on the Moon, cell phones will bring connectivity to the lunar surface. Nokia is developing an LTE/4G communications system for deployment on the lunar surface as part of the effort to create a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Nokia’s technology will be used by the Artemis program, which will establish operations on the Moon in preparation for an expedition to Mars.
“We are delivering a complete end-to-end LTE network that has multiple parts to it,” said Thierry E. Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research. “The first part is an LTE base station with integrated Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network functionality, which is integrated into a very small, ultra-compact form factor that will go on the lunar lander from our mission partner, Intuitive Machines, along with a passive antenna system.”
Nokia’s lunar network will consist of an LTE Base Station with integrated EPC functionalities, LTE User Equipment, RF antennas and high-reliability operations and maintenance control software. The LTE Base Station with integrated EPC functionalities will be mounted on the landing module, while the LTE User Equipment will be mounted on a rover or other payloads being deployed outside of the lander. The fully integrated cellular network will be designed to meet very stringent size, weight and power constraints of space payloads in an extremely compact form factor.
The second part is the user equipment and an omni-directional antenna that will be integrated in a rover. The rovers will be transported to the lunar surface and autonomously deployed by the lunar lander. An LTE link will be established between the lander and the rover to provide lunar surface connectivity.
Reader Interactions