Nokia Landed a 4G Cell Network on the Moon

Nokia sent the first 4G network system aboard Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander, which touched down on the Moon on March 6th.

The Big Picture: Putting a working cell network on the Moon would be a game-changer for astronauts and future lunar colonies.

Behind the Connection: Although Athena fell over on its side and lost power sooner than expected — cutting Nokia’s full deployment of the tech short — it still managed to prove that it worked.

• Even though it was only online for 25 minutes, Nokia’s “Network in a Box” (NIB) successfully turned on, received commands, and transmitted data to Intuitive Machines’ ground station on Earth.
• If Athena hadn’t fallen over, connected rovers would have traversed the lunar service for 1.2 miles (the farthest distance for the broadband connectivity) and then made a cellular call back to Earth — the first interplanetary call.
• Even if Athena didn’t fall over, the systems were only designed to last nine days, when lunar night would have struck, dropping the temperature to -208 degrees Fahrenheit — Nokia’s device can’t withstand that temperature yet, but it will for the Artemis mission.

The Future: The plan is for the adventurers aboard NASA’s Artemis III mission in 2027 to be outfitted with internet-connected Axios spacesuits, capable of transmitting first-person POV HD video back to Earth. While astronauts are eager to use the tech to chat with experts on the ground instead of mastering everything themselves, don’t be surprised if public feeds become some of YouTube’s most viral content of the year.