Have you ever wondered if it was possible to enable high-definition streaming from the lunar surface for viewers on Earth? That might very well be possible in the future as a 4G mobile phone network is going to be set up on the Moon. It’s part of a project to support the first privately funded mission to the moon as a result of which the first mobile phone network on the moon will go live next year.
Vodafone Germany, network equipment manufacturer Nokia, and Audi have teamed up to support the first private mission to the moon more than 50 years after NASA astronauts first set foot on the lunar surface.
Nokia has been appointed as the technology partner to create a space-grade network which will rely on a small box of hardware that’s going to weigh less than one bag of sugar. The companies are working with PTScientists, a Berlin-based company, on this project. They’re expected to launch in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX.
Vodafone is going to provide the 4G signal which will be able to transmit high-definition video live from the Moon. “This project involves a radically innovative approach to the development of mobile network infrastructure,” said Hannes Ametsreiter, the CEO of Vodafone Germany.
They have decided to build a 4G network on the Moon instead of a next-generation 5G network because they’re still in testing phase and aren’t stable enough to work from the lunar surface.