In an unprecedented move, telecom operator Vodafone is planning to create the world’s first 4G mobile network on the moon. This step has been taken by the British telecom major to support a mission by PTScientists in 2019. To turn this dream into reality, Vodafone has joined hands with Nokia which will act as the technology partner for the 4G network. Announcing this move, a Vodafone representative said that next year, exactly 50 years after NASA astronauts walked on moon’s surface, it will get 4G coverage.
“Vodafone plans to create the first 4G network on the moon to support a mission by PTScientists. We have target to land in 2019 on Moon,” he added. Meanwhile, CEO and Founder of PTScientists which is working on this project with Vodafone Germany and Audi, said that this will be the first privately-funded moon landing mission. “The cost is less than what it cost for full mission lab. We will be below USD 50 million mark,” Robert Bohme said.
The mission will be launched in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Bohme revealed that the project will last for about 11 days because of change in temperature on moon’s surface. During this mission, Vodafone might be able to broadcast 4G using the 1800 MHz frequency band and get the first ever live HD video feed of Moon’s surface.
The telecom operator plans to broadcast this live feed to a global audience with the help of a deep space link that interconnects with the PTScientists server in the Mission Control Centre in Berlin.
This mission can also be crucial in setting up communications infrastructure for future missions. Vodafone will use its expertise to set up Moon’s first 4G network, connecting two Audi lunar quattro rovers to a base station in the Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module (ALINA).
Meanwhile, Nokia will create a space-grade Ultra Compact Network weighing less than 1 kg through Nokia Bell Labs. The 4G network is expected to enable the Audi lunar quattro rovers to communicate and transfer scientific data and HD video while they carefully approach and study NASA’s Apollo 17 lunar roving vehicle.
This is the same vehicle that was used by the last astronauts to walk on the Moon to explore the Taurus-Littrow valley in December 1972.
