Nokia receives money from NASA to build a 4G network on the moon

Nokia is teaming up with the US space agency NASA to build a 4G network on the moon. In the first instance it is about LTE, then the moon should also get 5G, according to the Finnish hardware maker.

It is the first mobile network on the moon, Nokia claims . The intention is to allow lunar lands to communicate with each other using a faster and more reliable technology than is currently possible. It should start with 4G, but later the Moon should get a 5G network.

There are no details about how the network will function. For example, it is unclear how many cell towers there are, how they communicate with a possible backbone and how and whether a signal returns to Earth.

Nokia will receive $ 14.1 million from NASA to build the project over the next five years. This is part of the larger Tipping Points program, to invest money in public-private partnerships for initiatives on the moon.