This start-up aims to install an LTE base station on the Moon

Shawn Knight

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Elon Musk said earlier this year that he thought humanity needed to install a base on the Moon. Having a permanent presence on another heavenly body would “get the public real fired up” and seems like a logical stepping stone between where we are now and putting the first people on Mars.

Musk will be happy to learn that, should his idea come to fruition in the near future, there will be a wireless Internet connection waiting on him… assuming of course that one German company has its way.

Part Time Scientists is planning to send a lander with a rover to the Moon late next year. Rather than rely on complex technology to send data from the rover back to Earth, the team aims to install LTE base stations on the Moon.

Karsten Becker, head of embedded electronics development and integration for Part Time Scientists, said they are working with Vodafone on the endeavor. Their goal “is to provide commercial service to bring goods to the Moon and also to provide services on the surface of the Moon,” Becker added.

Ironically enough, the group will be using the services of Musk-owned SpaceX to get its payload into orbit. They hope to be the first private entity to reach the lunar surface. It’s a real possibility as Becker doesn’t believe those participating in the Google Lunar X Prize will meet the December 2017 deadline.

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The moon needs cellular service way, way before it needs actual people landing on it. Good move, Part-Time Guys/Full-Time Dummies.
If all you had to do to communicate with Earth was install an LTE radio in your rover, I imagine it'd be a lot easier to design a remote system. One less thing to worry about, and it can be used for numerous future projects.

The question is what projects will be on the Moon. Thinking humans must exist on the moon for communication technology to be useful there is...silly.
 
So the moon will have better coverage than where I live? Nice!

Anyhow, I thought we determined in a previous article that the BORG have a base underground on the moon. This is just going to make it easier for them to hack our networks and learn of our weaknesses. We must send Chuck Norris first to remove the BORG base.
 
I think the idea is more "communicated to earth, through us. Connect to us using LTE"

An LTE modem will be much cheaper than something with the power to bridge the gap between earth and the moon, so (presuming it works) it will be cheaper for private space companies over all.

We may one day escape earth's gravity well, but we'll never escape the telecos.
 
I wonder when we'll see the job offer for the on-site engineer.

Yeah, that may be part of the job description for that NASA position recently announced ...... great location but the medical benefits may need some work .....
 
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