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NASA has selected Nokia to build the first-ever 4G mobile network on Earth’s natural satellite, the Finnish telecommunications firm announced Monday.
The company’s U.S. industrial research arm, Bell Labs, is offering up its equipment to NASA to help build out the lunar network, with the aim of launching it in late 2022.
Under its Artemis program, NASA plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2024 — for the first time in five decades — followed by a “sustainable” human presence by 2028.
Nokia said its 4G network will allow astronauts to carry out a number of activities including making voice and video calls, sending important data and deploying payloads. It plans to eventually launch 5G on the moon as well.
NASA said in a blog post that it granted Nokia $14.1 million for the project, one of the agency’s various so-called “tipping point” investments focused on lunar exploration.
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Article URL : https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/10/19/nasa-is-launching-a-4g-mobile-network-on-the-moon.html