Technical Issues Destroy Nokia’s Moon 4G Call Plan

Nokia’s Moon cellular network deployment originally generated enthusiasm, however a technical issue prevented it from meeting its goal.

The business became the first to develop such a network less than a month ago, a major technical accomplishment. NASA helped Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission.

Nokia Bell Labs’ Lunar Surface Communication System was deployed by the Athena lander, however the mission failed to make the first cellular call from the Moon.

Mistaken Landing

Despite deploying a 4G network, Nokia’s first lunar cellular call was thwarted by a major landing fault. An error caused the Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander, which carried the network system, to land on its side, limiting the solar panels’ power output. Power outages immediately hampered system operations, prohibiting the cellphone call.

Major Success Still
Although the mission’s main aim was not met, the Finnish telecom giant established a 4G network on the lunar south pole. Nokia successfully sent data to Intuitive Machines’ ground station and Nokia’s mission control center on Earth, proving network functionality.

Nokia completed critical tests in 25 minutes despite the lunar lander’s unexpected shutdown. Nokia’s President of Bell Labs Solution Research openly recognized the network’s success and the first lunar call failure. He said:

Space exploration has huge and minor triumphs. Despite difficult conditions, we established the first cellular network on the Moon and are quite pleased of our accomplishments. All signs suggest we could have made the first Moon cellular call if our device modules were working when our network in a box was started up.