Nokia has delivered the first cellular network to the Moon and validated ‘key aspects’ of the network’s operation, though making the first lunar cellular call remains an elusive milestone.
Nokia Bell Labs’ Lunar Surface Communications System (LSCS) landed on the Moon aboard the Athena lander and transmitted operational data back to Earth. The wider intention of the project is to prove the viability of cellular technologies for critical communications on future lunar missions.
Deploying the network to the Moon is part of the Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission to the lunar south pole region. Nokia has now validated aspects of the network’s operation, including the transmission of operational data to Intuitive Machines’ ground station and Nokia’s mission control centre on Earth, as well as the activation of multiple communication solution components.
