NEW YORK, 25 APR – Streaming and messages from the Moon will no longer be science fiction. According to CNN, NASA has signed an agreement with Nokia to bring 4G into space. The cellular network will be installed on the lunar surface with SpaceX’s next launch, the date of which has not yet been confirmed. The system will be positioned by the lander at the southernmost point of the Moon and will be controlled remotely from Earth. “The first difficulty in making the network work – explained Walt Engelund of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate – is to have cellular equipment suitable for space with the necessary measurements, weight and electrical charge, in addition to the fact that it will have to be installed without a technician. It will also need to be able to function in the harsh lunar environmental conditions with extreme temperatures and radiation.” One of the lander’s missions will be to search for ice. According to scientists, lunar ice could be used to create breathable oxygen or even fuel. Images of the ice possibly transmitted via the cellular network would be unprecedented. Engelung also stressed that cellular connectivity is valuable to NASA’s Artemis program. The goal is to return astronauts to the Moon by the end of the decade. The American space agency is looking for a communications system capable of supporting the transmission of high-resolution video and scientific data. Astronauts currently talk to each other via radio.
