New York: A mobile network on the Moon? Really?
Who would have thought this could be possible at the turn of this millennium?
Well, it’s set to be a reality as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launches the Athena lander on Thursday.
The historic mission, marking deployment of the first mobile network on the Moon, is part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission and is being implemented through a collaboration with Nokia.
The Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS), developed by Nokia, utilises the same cellular technology used on Earth to establish connectivity on lunar surface.
The establishment of LSCS network will enable high-definition video streaming, command-and-control communications, and telemetry data transfer between the lander and lunar vehicles.
The network has been so designed so as to withstand harsh conditions of space, including extreme temperatures and radiation.
Two lunar mobility vehicles — Intuitive Machines Micro-Nova Hopper and Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover – will be involved in the first-of-its-kind mission.
These vehicles will use Nokia’s device modules to connect to the network on the lander.
Besides the mobile network deployment, NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1) will also be conducted. The aim of this mission is to drill into the Moon’s surface, extract regolith and analyze it for volatiles using a mass spectrometer.
With the Moon becoming increasingly accessible, advancements like setting up of mobile network will play a huge role in shaping the future of space exploration and potential lunar habitation.
