Five years ago, NASA and Nokia signed an agreement to develop a cellular network on the lunar surface in preparation for building a permanent lunar marker in the future. This week, Nokia was supposed to test the first phone call on the lunar surface, but the mission failed. So, what should you know about it?
For your information, Equipment for the 4G/LTE network was delivered to the lunar surface using the Athena lander, which landed four days ago. Unfortunately, it landed on its side, not as planned.
According to Intuitive Machines, which built Athena, their vehicle missed its original landing site by 400 meters. It landed on its side, preventing its solar panels from getting enough sunlight. After four days, it has now been declared dead.
This also meant that the first phone call on the lunar surface could not be made. In addition to Nokia, two rover vehicles, a jumping robot named Grace and a PRIME-1 drilling machine, were on a mission to find ice on the lunar surface. At this time, Nokia has not set a date for when the second attempt at a phone call on the lunar surface will be made.
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