Dubbed Athena, the lander will be equipped with LSCS when it travels to the lunar south pole region in IM-2 mission. The companies intend to deploy the first cellular network on the Moon.
“We believe delivering Nokia’s 4G/LTE system to the lunar surface is a transformative moment in the commercialisation of space and the maturity of the lunar economy,” said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines.
“We’re taking thoughtful steps to achieve sustainability. Whether it’s Nokia connecting surface assets, or Intuitive Machines’ ability to transmit that data back to Earth and establish lunar data relay satellites, these innovations are mainstay capabilities we believe will define the Artemis generation, and they were initiated through NASA leadership.”
Integration
After months of testing at Nokia Bell Labs, Intuitive Machines engineers have installed the LSCS “network in a box” to one of Athena’s upper carbon-composite panels.
Each of the 14 mounting points is thermally isolated to keep the network insulated from the extremely low temperatures of space. Intuitive Machines also integrated the network into Athena’s Thermal Protection System.
This system will expel heat when the network is operating, says the company, and it will supply heat to protect the network when it is idle.
Two rovers
It is not just Intuitive Machines that will be using the system – rovers launched from the landers will be on Athena’s network.
Two device modules – which make up additional components of Nokia’s LSCS – have been installed in two lunar mobility vehicles. These are Intuitive Machines’ Micro-Nova Hopper and Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover.
Upon landing on the Moon, the two vehicles are designed to deploy on the lunar surface. At this point, the MAPP rover will exit from a protective enclosure on Athena. It will then extend its antennas, and establish a connection to Nokia’s cellular network on Athena.
Micro-Nova Hopper, which will hop across the moon, is described as a “mini extreme mobility lunar vehicle” (right).
The MAPP rover is then expected to begin a multi-day journey. It will exploring the Moon’s south pole region, mapping the lunar surface and collecting stereo imagery and environmental data.
Lunar Surface Communication System
The Lunar Surface Communication System uses the standard 4G/LTE cellular technology familiar to billions of devices on Earth.
The LSCS network is engineered, however, to handle surface connectivity between the lander and vehicles. For example, it will be carrying high-definition video streaming, command-and-control communications and telemetry data.
Intuitive Machines then expects to relay data from the LSCS back to Earth using its direct-to-Earth data transmission service.
The launch of Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander will not happen before late February, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
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