Nokia plans to build a mobile phone network on the moon

Nokia wants to install radio equipment on a lunar lander.Image: Intuitive Machines/Nokia Bell Labs

In the coming years, NASA wants to send astronauts back to the moon. Nokia will build a mobile phone network there just like it does on Earth.

Steve Hack / T-Online

Nokia wants to build the world’s first LTE mobile network on Earth’s satellite, the electronics manufacturer announced in a blog post . Future astronauts should be able to communicate this way. To do so, Nokia said it’s working with spacesuit maker Axiom Space, which wants to integrate mobile technology into its products. Axiom Space has been commissioned by NASA to develop spacesuits for astronauts who will land at the moon’s south pole as part of the Artemis missions.

It's also where Nokia's mobile network will be installed, which will allow astronauts to exchange high-definition videos in real time, transmit telemetry data from their spacesuits and communicate with mission controllers on Earth.

Same technology as on Earth

The Lunar Surface Communications System (LSCS) is intended to connect astronauts' spacesuits to the manned lunar lander, from which there is direct communication with Earth. Nokia states:

The company wants to prove that the same mobile phone technologies that work on Earth can meet the growing communications demands on the moon.

Nokia wants to ship the equipment by the end of 2024.

Mobile network equipment is scheduled to be sent to the moon by the end of the year on an unmanned mission. After that, the two lunar exploration vehicles should be able to communicate via this medium in order to exchange telemetry data and produce live video.

Several lunar missions are planned as part of the Artemis program, named after the Greek goddess of the moon. First, the Artemis 2 crewed space capsule is to orbit Earth’s moon. The mission was postponed earlier this year to September 2025 due to problems with the rocket and spacecraft.

woman and non-white person

Then, no later than 2028, the first woman and person of color should land on the Moon. The European Space Agency (ESA) and space agencies from several other countries are participating in Artemis.

The last time men walked on the moon was during the Apollo 17 mission nearly 50 years ago. The landing took place on December 11, 1972.

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