NASA awards Nokia contract to set up 4G network on Moon.
                     NASA AWARDS 
NOKIA CONTRACT 
TO SET UP 4G 
NETWORK ON MOON
INTRODUCTION
• The National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA) has awarded 
Nokia of the US $14.1 million to 
deploy a 4G cellular network on the 
moon.
Source: business-
standard.com
Tipping Point
• The grant is part of $370 million 
worth of contracts signed under 
NASA`s "Tipping Point" selections, 
meant to advance research and 
development for space exploration.
Source: business-
standard.com
Aim of Mission
• The mission is expected to validate 
the future of operational 
deployments and the potential of 
human habitation on the Moon.
Source: 
nationalheraldindia.com
Support
• The system could support lunar 
surface communications at greater 
distances, increased speeds and 
provide more reliability than current 
standards.
Source: 
nationalheraldindia.com
Technologies for living and working on the moon
• NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine 
said that the space agency must 
quickly develop new technologies for 
living and working on the moon if it 
wants to realize its goal to have 
astronauts working at a lunar base 
by 2028.
Source: 
zeenews.india.com
Nokia’s Research
• Nokia's research arm, Bell Labs, 
provided more details for the 
network to support wireless 
operation of lunar rovers and 
navigation, as well as streaming 
video.
Source: 
zeenews.india.com
Data transmission applications
• Bell Labs said that working with the 
partners at Int_Machines, this 
groundbreaking network will be the 
critical communications fabric for 
data transmission applications, 
including the control of lunar rovers, 
real-time navigation over lunar 
geography and streaming of high 
definition video.
Source: News Break
Nokia’s Previous Attempt 
• This is not Nokia's first attempt to 
launch an LTE network on the moon. 
• It was planned to do this in 2018 in 
collaboration with PTScientists, a 
German space company, and 
Vodafone UK to launch an LTE 
network at the site of the Apollo 17 
landing, but the mission never got 
off the ground.
Source: Kashmir 
Reader
5G Network on the Moon
• Nokia said that the company will 
build and deploy the first wireless 
network on the Moon, starting with 
4G, and moving on to 5G later down 
the line.
Source: 
deccanherald.com
Technology for extreme condition
• The network is designed to 
withstand the extreme 
temperatures, radiation and vacuum 
of space, along with the vibrational 
impact sustained during launch and 
landing. 
• It will be built to meet the size, 
weight and power constraints of 
space payloads in the smallest 
possible form.
Source: 
researchgate.com