It has been less than a month since Nokia made waves for being the first company to deploy its first cellular network on the Moon, which marked a huge leap. While the company no longer serves the telecommunication sector, its services in the telecommunication infrastructure technology cannot be ignored.
When the company announced the launch of a 4G lunar network in collaboration with NASA as part of the Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission, the tech community was exuberant. Although Nokia Bell Labs' Lunar Surface Communication System successfully reached the Moon aboard the Athena lander, it failed to achieve one of its key goals, which was to make the first cellular call from the lunar surface.
Nokia was not able to accomplish the first-ever cellular call from the Moon despite successfully deploying the cellular network on the lunar surface
Nokia excited the tech community when it shared its plans to establish the first LTE network on the Moon. It took part in the IM-2 mission, which transports NASA technology and other equipment to support future lunar explorations. Even though Nokia was able to touch down on the Moon with the Athena lander, it was not able to fulfill one of the key objectives: making the first cellular call from the lunar surface.
In what can be termed unfortunate circumstances, Intuitive Machines' Athena lander did not land in the correct position. It landed on the side, which prevented the solar panels from generating sufficient power. Since there was not enough energy to run the system or make the first cellular call, the mission failed to carry out its major goal. Despite the setback, the Finnish company successfully deployed the 4G network in the lunar south pole region. Nokia was able to confirm key network functions, which included the transmission of data to the ground station of Intuitive Machines and the company's own mission control center on Earth.
Nokia was also able to conduct multiple tests within a twenty-five-minute timeframe before the lander shut down. The President of Bell Labs Solution Research at Nokia shared its success in deploying the first lunar cellular network and also detailed the inability to complete the first call on the Moon. He expressed:
In space exploration there are big successes and small successes. We delivered and deployed the first cellular network on the Moon and we are incredibly proud of the results that we have achieved despite the very challenging circumstances. If our device modules had been functional when our network in a box was powered up, all indications tell us that we would have been able to complete the first-ever cellular call on the Moon.
While Nokia would be highlighted by the tech community for failing in its attempt to make a cellular call on the Moon, Intuitive Machines has been hit the hardest, as its stock dropped by more than 50 percent. Despite the company's challenges, it was still able to prove that the technology designed for Earth can be modified to be functional on the Moon.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
