Vodafone and Nokia to install a 4G network on the MOON next year

Vodafone Germany, Nokia and Audi said today they were working together to support the mission that could allow lunar rovers to communicate with each other via a 4G mobile phone network. If it goes ahead this would also enable high-definition live streaming from the lunar landscape back to Earth & make trips to the moon commercially viable.

The plan is to connect two Audi lunar rovers to a base station in the Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module (ALINA). The 4G network will enable the Audi lunar rovers to transfer scientific data and HD video while they study Nasa's Apollo 17 lunar roving vehicle that was used by the last astronauts to walk on the Moon.

The companies are working with Berlin-based company PTScientists on the project, with a launch scheduled in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Vodafone said. One executive involved said the decision to build a 4G network rather a state-of-the-art 5G network was taken because the next generation networks remain in the testing and trial stage. This means it might not be stable enough to work from the lunar surface.