Nokia and Intuitive Machines to deploy first cellular network on Moon

Nokia and Intuitive Machines, Inc. have completed the final integration of Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS) into the Athena lunar lander for the upcoming IM-2 mission. The mission aims to deploy the first-ever cellular network on the Moon’s south pole.

After months of testing and validation with Nokia Bell Labs, Intuitive Machines engineers installed the LSCS “network in a box” to one of Athena’s upper carbon-composite panels. Multiple precautions were taken during the installation to help ensure that the network will safely make the 239,000-mile journey to the Moon, survive the stresses of take-off and landing, and operate optimally on the lunar surface. 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. This system will expel heat when the network is operating, and it will supply heat to protect the network when it is idle.

Two device modules make up additional components of Nokia’s LSCS, and they have been installed in two lunar mobility vehicles: Intuitive Machines’ Micro-Nova Hopper and Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover. Upon landing on the Moon, the two vehicles are designed to deploy on the lunar surface where they would immediately use the Nokia device modules to establish connections to the network on Athena.

The LSCS utilises the same 4G/LTE cellular technology used by billions of devices on Earth, though Nokia Bell Labs reconceptualised the system to meet the requirements of a lunar mission. The network is engineered to handle surface connectivity between the lander and vehicles, carrying high-definition video streaming, command-and-control communications and telemetry data. Intuitive Machines expects to relay data from the LSCS back to Earth using its direct-to-Earth data transmission service.

Thierry E. Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia, said: “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. 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.”

Nokia Bell Labs developed the LSCS and Intuitive Machines created the Micro-Nova Hopper in partnership with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate via its Tipping Point initiative, which funds industry-developed space technologies that can foster the development of commercial space capabilities and benefit future NASA missions. One of the goals of Intuitive Machines’ second lunar mission will be to use the Micro-Nova Hopper and the LSCS to test new sensor instruments that could help identify and map precious resources on the Moon, like water ice. The Micro-Nova Hopper, named Grace, is designed to descend into permanently shadowed lunar craters. There it may use these new sensors to scan for large concentrations of hydrogen, which are indicative of ice deposits. All data collected by the Micro-Nova would then be transmitted over the Nokia network to Athena, where it would be relayed back to Earth.

The Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover was developed by Lunar Outpost. Once on the lunar surface, the MAPP rover will exit from a protective enclosure on Athena, extend its antennas, and establish a connection to Nokia’s cellular network on Athena. The MAPP rover will then begin a multi-day journey exploring the Moon’s south pole region, mapping the lunar surface while collecting stereo imagery and vital environmental data along the way.

Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, added: “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. 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.”

Launch of Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander is targeted for no earlier than late February from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.