A new study by NASA reveals that they are working on making Wi-Fi work on the moon known as “lunar Wi-Fi”. This research is part of bringing solutions to the areas across parts of the US where there is no internet access. It also includes the need to help inform future Artemis missions.
A new study by NASA reveals that they are working on making Wi-Fi work on the moon known as “lunar Wi-Fi”. This research is part of bringing solutions to the areas across parts of the US where there is no internet access. It also includes the need to help inform future Artemis missions.
Director of technology incubation and innovation at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Mary Lobo said in a statement, “This presented a great opportunity to develop solutions to the challenges we face sending astronauts to the Moon under Artemis while also addressing a growing societal issue in our hometown.”
The Artemis program was unveiled last year which aims to land people on the moon. The plan was to launch an uncrewed mission to the moon in 2021 first and then a lunar landing in 2024. Currently, the study conducted by NASA’s Compass Lab to set up Wi-Fi is crucial. As stated by Compass Lab lead at NASA Glenn, Steve Oleson, the study is important because “crew, rovers, science instruments, and mining equipment, will need reliable communication links to a lunar/Artemis basecamp and ultimately back to Earth,”
Additionally, the lack of internet access to certain areas is a socio-economic concern in the country. Digital inequality has worsened during the pandemic. As per the report by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, there are no internet services in 31% of the households in Cleveland.
The Artemis program, which was unveiled last year, aims to land people on the moon for the first time since 1972. Its plan is to launch an uncrewed mission around the moon in 2021, followed by a crewed moon flyby in 2023, then a lunar landing in 2024.
The study, which was conducted by NASA's Compass Lab, is important because "crew, rovers, science instruments, and mining equipment, will need reliable communication links to a lunar/Artemis basecamp and ultimately back to Earth," Steve Oleson, Compass Lab lead at NASA Glenn, told Insider.
NASA reported in the press release that digital inequality and a lack of access to adequate internet service is a socioeconomic concern across the US, which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, about 31% of the households in Cleveland have no broadband access.
Following these findings, an economic development organization, approached NASA's Glenn Research Center to analyze the technical barriers of digital inequality and see if there was an opportunity to use the moon to solve Earth's digital divide.
To assess how such a network might look on the moon, the Compass team at NASA's Glenn Research Center evaluated how a terrestrial network could operate in a nearby Cleveland neighborhood, Oleson told Insider.At the same time, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, an economic development organization, reached out to NASA to figure out the most effective way to bring Wi-Fi to nearly 31% of Cleveland households without broadband access.
"We work on space crafts all day and the secondary benefit of that is we develop technologies that come back here to earth," said Steve Oleson, Compass team lead. "How do you interconnect all those things, you don’t just blindly say you’re going to design a wireless system for the moon, you say how would they do it on Earth."
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