[▲ Argraff arlunydd o’r lander “NOVA-C” (canol) a’r crwydro “MAPP” (chwith) gyda chyfarpar cyfathrebu lleuad Nokia (Credyd: Nokia Bell Labs)]
Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia plans to deploy its first 4G network on the moon at the end of 2023. However, it does not mean that smartphones can be used on the moon, but is an operation as a technical demonstration for future lunar exploration.
The 4G network for the moon, developed by Nokia’s Bell Laboratories, will be used on the IM-2 mission by the NOVA-C unmanned lunar lander developed by the US private space company Intuitive Machines. The role of the base station is played by the NOVA-C itself, which has an antenna, and communication is performed using the 4G network with the Lunar Outpost unmanned rover of the US company “MAPP ” set as payload.
[▲ Fideo sylwebaeth o genhadaeth IM-2 gan Bell Laboratories (Saesneg)]
（Credit: Nokia Bell Labs）
According to Nokia, one of the goals of the IM-2 mission is to prove that the same technology used for mobile communication on Earth can also be used to communicate on future lunar missions. In 2020, the company was named by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as one of its partners to promote tipping point technology on the moon, with a $14.1 million grant to its US subsidiary.
The landing site of the IM-2 mission will be near Shackleton Crater at the South Pole of the Moon and will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NOVA-C has a sample collection drill developed as part of NASA’s “Artemis” manned lunar mission, and water ice believed to be buried beneath the lunar surface is being sampled and analyzed. In the IM-2 mission, a small rover “YAOKI” developed by Daimon Co., Ltd. is also supposed to be transported to the moon.
Related: YAOKI lunar rover Dimon, new lunar transport contract with Intuitive Machines to launch in second half of 2023 (January 17, 2023)
Source
- Image Credit: Nokia Bell Labs
- CNBC – 4G internet is expected to reach the moon later this year
- Nokia – Nokia Bell Labs showcases cutting-edge research on lunar and 6G networks at #MWC23
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