Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS) was installed onto the Athena lander as part of the IM-2 mission, which seeks to examine ice near the Moon’s south pole.
The device will provide 4G LTE cellular connectivity, the same used by billions of devices back on Earth and will be used to transmit high-definition video streaming, command-and-control communications and telemetry data between the lander and vehicles.
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“We intend to prove that cellular technologies can provide the reliable, high-capacity and efficient connectivity needed for future crewed and uncrewed missions to the Moon and eventually Mars,” said Thierry E. Klein, president of Bell Labs solutions research at Nokia. “Cellular technology has irrevocably transformed the way we communicate on Earth. There’s no reason it can’t do the same for communications on other worlds.”
Each of the 14 mounting points is thermally isolated to keep the network insulated from the extremely low temperatures of deep space. Intuitive Machines also integrated the network into Athena’s Thermal Protection System to expel heat when the network is operating and supply heat to protect the network when it is idle.
Two device modules make up additional components of Nokia’s LSCS. They’re installed into two lunar vehicles: Intuitive Machines’ Micro-Nova Hopper and Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover.
The vehicles will be deployed upon landing, with Nokia’s modules maintaining connections between them and the Athena.
Nokia Bell Labs developed the LSCS in partnership with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate via its Tipping Point initiative, which funds industry-developed space technologies capable of fostering the development of commercial space capabilities and future NASA missions.
“We believe delivering Nokia’s 4G/LTE system to the lunar surface is a transformative moment in the commercialisation of space and the maturity of the lunar economy,” said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines. “We’re taking thoughtful steps to achieve sustainability. Whether it’s Nokia connecting surface assets, or Intuitive Machines’ ability to transmit that data back to Earth and establish lunar data relay satellites, these innovations are mainstay capabilities we believe will define the Artemis generation, and they were initiated through NASA leadership.”
The Athena lander launch is scheduled for no earlier than late February and will head for the Moon aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
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