Vodafone 4G in moon by next year
Science enthusiasts across the world are waiting for the Mission to the moon launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in 2019. Now, Vodafone has announced that it has plans to create the first 4G network on the moon to support a mission by PTScientists.
“The moon will get 4G coverage next year, 50 years after the first NASA astronauts walked on its surface. Vodafone plans to create the first 4G network on the moon to support a mission by PTScientists. We have target to land in 2019 on Moon,” said a Vodafone representative.
Vodafone has appointed Nokia as its technology partner for the 4G network. The project would be the first privately-funded moon landing mission, which will lay the future of space exploration.
Berlin-based PTScientists is working with Vodafone Germany and Audi on the project. With Vodafone’s new initiative, the base station would be able to broadcast 4G using the 1800 MHz frequency band and send back the first ever live HD video feed of the Moon’s surface, which will be broadcast to a global audience via a deep space link that interconnects with the PTScientists server in the Mission Control Centre in Berlin.
The project will last for about 11 days because of massive change in temperature on the moon. Vodafone’s network expertise will be used to set up the Moon’s first 4G network, connecting two Audi lunar quattro rovers to a base station in the Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module (ALINA). Nokia, through Nokia Bell Labs, will create a space-grade Ultra Compact Network that will weigh less than one kilogram.