CNN Philippines (CNN Philippines, October 27) — NASA is planning to put up the first-ever 4G LTE network on the moon by late 2022 in a bid to extend a human presence on the lunar surface.
“The target … could be as soon as late 2022 or very shortly thereafter,” NASA Associate Administrator for Space Technology Jim Reuter told CNN Philippines’ New Day.
“A reliable, reliant, and high-capacity communications network is key to supporting sustainable human presence on the moon,” he noted, adding the ultimate goal is to land humans on Mars as early as 2030.
A 4G LTE network would allow NASA to conduct real-time navigation activities like controlling rovers on the moon surface as well as support communications with people in space, the NASA official pointed out.
Nokia was granted $14.1 million or over P670 million to build the communications system. It is among the companies, which received grants from the space agency, to deploy technologies on the moon’s surface. Other innovations include remote power generation and cryogenic freezing.
Reuter explained that cryogenic fluid management is a “critical technology for us — the ability to store super cold liquids for extended periods of time.”
“Right now, on large scale, we can store liquids for hours. But what we need is to store them for months or years and also to be able to transfer between vehicles,” he added.
NASA said 24 American astronauts made the trip from the Earth to the Moon from 1968 to 1972, half of whom were moonwalkers.
