The Moon is getting busier these days, with several missions planned and underway by private ventures and international collaborations.
With this in mind, there's a greater need than ever to have a reliable communication network.
Intuitive Machines, who built the first commercially funded lander to touch down on the Moon in 2024, set a goal of putting a Nokia cellular network on the Moon in 2025. This would have been a 4G cellular network enabling communication between the lander and two vehicles.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out this time – the lander made it to the Moon, but fell on its side and wasn’t able to achieve its objective.
Nevertheless, future attempts using Nokia’s radiation-hardened electronics might later be used for a 5G network for lunar habitats and spacesuits.
That’s one small step for man, and lots of Moon emojis.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Kaitlin Finley, Cambridge) 'Could I get phone signal on the Moon?'
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