Nokia Closer to Bringing Cell Phone Signal to the Moon



The system developed by the Finnish company is expected to be deployed on board the IM-2 space mission, scheduled for February 2025.


Nokia is one step closer to equipping the Moon with a mobile phone signal as part of its Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS) project - which is what the Finnish company describes as a “network in a box”.


A statement shared by Nokia indicates that the company has completed the necessary preparations for the system to be integrated into the Athena lander of the IM-2 mission, scheduled for launch at the end of next February.


The system developed by Nokia will allow astronauts and lunar rovers to communicate with each other on the Moon with 4G/LTE coverage, as well as enabling the transmission of high-definition video.


“We want to prove that these technologies can provide the efficient, reliable and high-capacity connectivity needed for future crewed and uncrewed missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars,” said Thierry E. Klein, president of Nokia’s Bell Labs Solutions Research.