The space economy is forecast to reach USD 1.8 trillion by 2035, driven by the popularity of space-based and enabled technologies (including communications), according to the 2024 insight report from the World Economic Forum.
Communication is a necessity that enables global understanding and progress. The internet, a staple in our lives since its inception, has been a key player in connecting people and organizations, highlighting its significance in societal evolution. The surge in the demand for faster and more reliable connectivity has been remarkable, underscoring the necessity for significant upgrades in network infrastructure.
However, this exponential demand for connectivity has extended to space, leading to piqued interest concerning the possibility of longer human presence on the lunar surface.
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4G Features and Lunar Missions
Reportedly, NASA has invested USD 370 million to support its goal of establishing a human presence on the Moon by 2030. But why? Is space connectivity just a profound idea or is it possible?
The 4G/LTE lunar network is poised to provide a higher bandwidth capacity compared to traditional ultra-high frequency (UHF) systems utilized for communication in space. This supports the transmission of high-definition video streams, permitting astronauts to share lunar surface footage via the internet with the public and scientific community in real-time, marking an end to the black-and-white, grainy lunar photos.
It will also improve voice and video quality, allowing clearer interaction from the Moon to Earth and vice versa, improving teamwork and enabling smoother operations. Support for autonomous operations that allow video data streaming from lunar devices to enhance exploration will be enabled.
The LTE lunar network’s low latency feature will also facilitate near-instantaneous video transmission, which will be critical for communication during lunar operations and missions.
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These features will enable real-time collaboration and coordination between astronauts and mission control on Earth, advancing data collection and research that could propel major lunar discoveries. Robotic missions will also be enabled, augmenting efficiency to a new level.
Moreover, support, guidance, and safety, the critical concerns of astronauts on the Moon’s surface, will improve significantly, allowing them to explore more complex missions and understand environmental conditions and potential hazards that may endanger lunar operations. Their health and wellness will be better monitored through 4G’s more reliable data transmission.
The deployment of 4G on the Moon’s surface will be crucial for spacecraft control and will support the crew’s location as they explore the unknown. This represents a significant advancement in lunar exploration, particularly for missions like Artemis, compared to the communication technology used during the Apollo missions.
Eventually, the established 4G network on the Moon will be upgraded to 5G and could be used as a steppingstone for future explorations on Mars.
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Communication Challenges on the Lunar Surface
Our journey to establish reliable connectivity and robust network infrastructures on Earth has taken decades of technological evolution. Building on the success of the latest technological advancements, connectivity will be extended beyond the planetary atmosphere.
Building robust communication networks form the foundation needed to achieve the ambitious goal of establishing a longer human presence on the Moon. However, previous lunar missions have faced challenges in maintaining communication to, and from, the lunar surface. Long mission durations and small crew sizes make operations highly critical, emphasizing the need for more reliable communication services.
Communication delays are inevitable and can disrupt interactions with the ground crew, making it difficult to provide real-time guidance and affecting the team's performance in space. However, with innovations like relay satellites, maintaining communication is now achievable.
In 2018, the first Moon relay satellite, Queqiao-1, was launched by China to support the Chang’e 4 mission’s soft landing on the far side of the Moon.
Furthermore, scientists and operators may face risks on the Moon’s harsh and rocky surface. Extreme temperature and radiation may also be critical factors, possibly affecting the deployment and performance of 4G and 5G technologies on the lunar surface.
Onboard missions typically rely on the real-time availability of ground team experts for vehicle command, resolution of safety-critical problems, and guidance during complex operations. However, a white paper from the Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) Conference states that these services would not be available 24/7 for future missions beyond low Earth orbit (BLEO).
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The Telecom Industry’s Expansion Beyond Earth
In recent years, the remarkable technological advancements on Earth have sparked the exciting idea of bringing these innovations into space. As technology continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, humanity is now poised to explore beyond our planet's boundaries like never before.
Telecommunications company, Vodafone Germany, will aid in developing the lunar 4G network, enabling the first live streaming of HD video from the Moon’s surface for a worldwide audience as announced in 2018, with telecommunications equipment supplier, Nokia, as its technology partner.
In 2020, NASA funded various companies to develop technologies in support of the Artemis program, with Nokia being granted USD 14.1 million for building a 4G network on the Moon.
Spearheading the 4G network unit construction, Nokia’s Bell Labs is utilizing off-the-shelf commercial components that are designed to withstand the Moon’s harsh environment (ice has been noted as a contributing hindrance). This is critical to establish a link between the lander and roaming vehicles, which have been programmed to search the lunar surface and gather data.
NASA aims to send astronauts back to the Moon on its Artemis III mission by 2026, the first since 1972. To achieve this ambition, NASA and telecommunications giant, Nokia, established a groundbreaking partnership to bring 4G technology to the Moon’s surface, believing that the network connectivity used on Earth would also be possible to use there.
Through the Intuitive Machine (IM)-2 mission, NASA and Nokia will test 4G/LTE communications equipment on the moon. According to Nokia, the IM-2 mission is projected to be launched later this year, carrying its 4G network equipment for installation on the Moon’s surface.
IM-2’s Nova-C lunar lander will be connected to its Micro-Nova hopper and Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover through Nokia’s equipment.
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Landing on the Moon’s South Pole, this initiative will bring life to the envisioned lunar surface communications system, which NASA expects to provide more reliable data transmission and communication among its astronauts once they return to the Moon for their Artemis missions.
The 4G network installation is poised to control the rover remotely, stream real-time video and telemetry data back to Earth, and provide communication capabilities for data transmission and navigation.
Furthermore, LunaNet, a lunar internet project by the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) aims to support the future Artemis program with communications and navigation interoperability by replicating the Earth’s internet, establishing a long-term presence on the Moon’s surface. According to NASA, LunaNet will enable various services including networking, navigation, detection and information, and radio/optical science services.
The Lunar Surface Propagation (LSP) project studies the performance of wireless communications systems in the lunar surface environment, analyzing the effects of the Moon’s terrain on signal transmission.
The Moonlight program, another initiative by NASA and ESA, is poised to deliver sufficient data capacities to serve future lunar explorations, enabling a navigation service with accurate real-time positioning.
Moreover, NASA’s Lunar LTE Studies (LunarLiTES) assesses how Earth’s 4G and 5G technologies can be used on the lunar surface, emphasizing the massive environmental difference. NASA is focusing on integrating 4G and 5G LTE capabilities into the Multiple Asset Testbed for Research of Innovative Communication Systems (MATRICS) emulation environment, enabling full communications system operations.
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Final Thoughts
The technological advancements and the advent of the new generation of networks has paved the way for the lunar internet, insinuating a significant leap for future interplanetary communication and the quest towards the exploration of other celestial bodies.
Building on the success of current network technologies on Earth, 4G’s integration on the Moon will serve as a foundation for future explorations and missions on the Moon’s surface, accelerating scientific research and discovering new resources that could provide answers to centuries-old questions about the Moon and space.
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Once more reliable network infrastructures have been established on the Moon’s surface, humankind will see a glimpse of a future where long-term lunar inhabitation could be possible. This initiative is just the beginning of the quest for technological exploration beyond the Earth’s surface; an indication that we are not just visitors but residents of a broader celestial community.
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