The Artemis is a U.S. government-backed and funded crewed space program that has the aim of landing "the first woman and the next man" on the Moon, by the year 2024.
Led by NASA, which is the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the program has partnered with various international space agencies.
They include: the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the Australian Space Agency (ASA), the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA).
The long-term goal of this program, is to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon, which would then lay the foundation, and experience, for agencies and companies to build a lunar economy.
That to eventually send humans further, most notably, to Mars.
It was back in December 2017 that U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Space Policy Directive 1, authorizing the lunar campaign.
Formally launching the Artemis 1, or formerly Exploration Mission-1, it was that time the series of increasingly complex missions officially started.
To reach that goal, NASA has awarded $370 million to more than a dozen companies to deploy innovations that include remote power generation, cryogenic freezing, robotics, and safer landing.
And among others, also include 4G internet connection.
The one responsible to bring that connection to the Earth's only natural satellite, is Nokia.
According to NASA, 4G connection could provide a more stable and reliable, and also a longer-distance communications method than the existing radio standards available on the Moon.
Because it uses the same technology like on Earth, the 4G network should be scalable.
Nokia's Bell Labs was granted $14.1 million for the project.
Bell Labs, formerly operated by AT&T, partners with spaceflight engineering company Intuitive Machines to build out the 4G-LTE network.
This network consists of an LTE Base Station with integrated Evolved Packet Core (EPC) functionalities, LTE User Equipment, RF antennas and high-reliability operations and maintenance (O&M) control software.
Nokia said that the network would be 4G/LTE, which is already in use at this time on Earth since the last decade, and not 5G. This is because 4G is already a more known quantity with proven reliability.
But the infrastructure of this 4G on the Moon should also be upgradable, meaning that in the future, the Moon can also have 5G when needed.
Marcus Weldon, Chief Technology Officer at Nokia and Nokia Bell Labs President, said in a blog post:
"Reliable, resilient and high-capacity communications networks will be key to supporting sustainable human presence on the lunar surface."
"By building the first high performance wireless network solution on the Moon, Nokia Bell Labs is once again planting the flag for pioneering innovation beyond the conventional limits."
The Moon's cellular network should be designed and capable to withstand the particularities of the Moon's surface.
This includes: extreme temperatures, radiations, space vacuums, solar winds, and other non-Earthly conditions. It should also stay functional during lunar landings and launches, even though rockets can significantly vibrate the Moon's surface.
According to Bell Labs, 4G connections on the Moon would allow astronauts to wirelessly transmit data that also includes telemetry and biometrics, control lunar rovers and other robotic devices, real-time navigation, as well as uploading streams of high-definition videos.
Bell Labs said that it is also developing small cell technology to power the Moon's 4G network.
This technology would enable connection that uses less power than Earth's traditional cell tower, and is also easier to pack inside a rocket ship. A similar technology is also implemented on Earth, to deploy 5G networks in more places.
In other words, the infrastructure for the Moon's 4G connections should be ultra-compact, low-power, space-hardened, and has end-to-end LTE solution.
Nokia expects this 4G on the Moon project to be finished in 2022, or two years before deadline.
With the connection, NASA and others expect the first woman and the next man on the Moon would have the ability to phone home while exploring the lunar surface. And with everything put together, NASA hopes that humans can create a colony on the Moon to discover new things and demonstrate new technological advances to benefit the human race.
