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Startup To Put Cellphone Tower on the Moon (space.com)

Posted by msmash on from the to-the-future dept.

An astronaut wandering the moon next year could use a smartphone to call home. If everything goes according to a plan, that is. A German startup is preparing to set up the first telecommunication infrastructure on the lunar surface. From a report: The German company Part Time Scientists, which originally competed for the Google Lunar X Prize race to the moon, plans to send a lander with a rover in late 2018 to visit the landing site of Apollo 17. (Launched in 1972, this was NASA's final Apollo mission to the moon.) Instead of using a complex dedicated telecommunication system to relay data from the rover to the Earth, the company will rely on LTE technology -- the same system used on Earth for mobile phone communications. "We are cooperating with Vodafone in order to provide LTE base stations on the moon," Karsten Becker, who heads embedded electronics development and integration for the startup, told Space.com. "What we are aiming to do is to provide commercial service to bring goods to the moon and also to provide services on the surface of the moon," Becker added.

58 of 76 comments (clear)

  1. Last Post by darkain · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd be first post, but that LTE latency of sending packets back and forth with the moon is just terrible!

    1. Re:Last Post by Penguinisto · · Score: 1

      0.25 sec each way? I get the same lag off my Sat. Internet connection here on Earth.

      Not quite conducive to playing a FPS, but just fine for almost everything else (though Webex is a big laggy, it actually still works over a Sat. modem.)

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    2. Re:Last Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The moon is ~239,000 miles from earth. The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second. You might want to check your math again.

    3. Re:Last Post by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      A satellite orbiting the Earth is nowhere near as far away as the moon. Try a 3 second latency.

    4. Re:Last Post by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      You fail at math and physics.

  2. Roaming charges by simishag · · Score: 5, Funny

    Those roaming charges will be astronomical.

    1. Re:Roaming charges by tquasar · · Score: 1

      Jackie Gleason saw it coming..."To the moon, Alice..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    2. Re:Roaming charges by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      Those roaming charges will be astronomical.

      Something tells me that weekends won't be free either.

    3. Re:Roaming charges by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 1

      Roaming charges to be renamed to roving charges.

    4. Re:Roaming charges by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      You take things too literally. It was a metaphor.

    5. Re:Roaming charges by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Indeed, the quality of service for the money may approach the one of US broadband.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    6. Re:Roaming charges by mfnickster · · Score: 1

      I think scientists had already proved by 1955 that human muscle power alone is insufficient to propel an object to the moon.

      --
      "Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
  3. I know another place to stick one. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Right in Uranus

  4. The moon will have better coverage than here by MikeDataLink · · Score: 2

    Fantastic! The moon will have better coverage than the town where I live! Wait. That sucks.

    --
    Mike @ The Geek Pub. Let's Make Stuff!
    1. Re:The moon will have better coverage than here by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Especially since you have to wait until a full moon to get decent coverage on Earth.

    2. Re:The moon will have better coverage than here by kwbauer · · Score: 1

      What?

    3. Re:The moon will have better coverage than here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's what she said.

    4. Re:The moon will have better coverage than here by Megane · · Score: 1

      Seriously, though, the moon is tidally locked, so the same side always faces Earth. What does change is what part of Earth it faces, due to both the daily rotation and the monthly orbit. Which side is facing the Sun is mostly irrelevant unless you are using solar power.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    5. Re:The moon will have better coverage than here by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      I saw what you did there.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    6. Re:The moon will have better coverage than here by ls671 · · Score: 1

      creimer doesn't seem to know that. Maybe he thinks parts of the moon go into a blackhole when the sun doesn't shine on them.

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  5. Will not be easy ... by eneville · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... using a smart phone with those gloves on.

    --
    Why UNIX?
    1. Re:Will not be easy ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      u9 9RGWU9ti taz uQ IGW4

      --
      Sent from my MoonPhone. Please excuse any typos.

  6. You know, those aliens... by MindPrison · · Score: 1

    ...need decent coverage too.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
  7. Someone said it above by Miser · · Score: 1

    ... but how exactly would you do this without 100x Hughesnet levels of latency?

    Miser

    1. Re:Someone said it above by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      ... but how exactly would you do this without 100x Hughesnet levels of latency?

      The round trip latency is about 2.5 seconds, which is a killer for voice, but is fine for texting. No one born after 1990 uses voice anyway. I have two teenagers, and I have to use texting to tell them dinner is ready.

    2. Re:Someone said it above by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

      >The round trip latency is about 2.5 seconds

      PTT, don't expect synchronous communications. Apollo managed just fine.

      Even so, this is kind of silly even as a publicity stunt. There's little need for complicated infrastructure when you can easily get away with a relay station on your lander and a suit radio. You're not going to leave radio range of your lander as it will also have all your precious oxygen, and you're not taking your suit off either.

      And there's currently no real need for encryption, though I suppose it might be nice for the people in question not to have the planet listening in on every noise an astronaut makes.

    3. Re:Someone said it above by kwbauer · · Score: 1

      "have to use texting to tell them dinner is ready" "Have to" is pretty strong there. "Choose to coddle them by texting" is a much more accurate way to state this as most people don't even need to use a phone to tell people in the house that the food has been prepared.

    4. Re: Someone said it above by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      The one way trip is 2.5 seconds. Round trip is about 5-6 seconds.

      Distance to the moon = 384,400 km
      Speed of light = 299,792 km/sec

      Round trip time = (distance * 2) / speed = 2.56 seconds.

  8. Startup will put 'X' on moon by onyxruby · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We seem to get a story like this at least every other month. Just to keep some perspective on how ludicrous this is, here's a list of nation states that have landed something on the moon without crashing it:

    US
    China
    USSR

    A few more have deliberately crashed something on the moon:
    India
    Japan
    ESA

    Don't feed the marketing trolls by posting stories like this please. It wastes time and electrons that could be put to far better use....

    1. Re:Startup will put 'X' on moon by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 1

      And there isn't a single country on the planet (nor consortium of countries) that could POSSIBLY have "An astronaut wandering the moon next year" -- probably not even in 5 years, even with a MASSIVE multinational effort.

    2. Re:Startup will put 'X' on moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Cell service could be used by anyone that sends up something that needs an internet connection. Like a robotic rover, or science station, or whatever. A cell transmitter is a lot smaller and less power hungry and cheaper than what is usually used to transmit stuff back to earth leaving more power and weight and money for doing science stuff.

    3. Re:Startup will put 'X' on moon by Nehmo · · Score: 1

      And there isn't a single country on the planet (nor consortium of countries) that could POSSIBLY have "An astronaut wandering the moon next year" -- probably not even in 5 years, even with a MASSIVE multinational effort.

      You're thinking of the old-fashion method of having a round-trip plan. One-way could be done in 5 years.

      --
      (||) Nehmo (||)
    4. Re:Startup will put 'X' on moon by dissy · · Score: 1

      Could you please clarify your point?

      The first part of your sentence claims how ludicrous it would be implying it isn't easy/possible, while the second part of that same sentence details exactly how possible it is to do.

      Are you claiming it isn't possible for a German company to put things on the moon via Russian rockets?
      Or are you claiming it IS possible for a German company to put things on the moon via Russian rockets?

      I mean, obviously you claimed both at the same time, but clearly only one can be true, right?

    5. Re:Startup will put 'X' on moon by geekmux · · Score: 2

      And there isn't a single country on the planet (nor consortium of countries) that could POSSIBLY have "An astronaut wandering the moon next year" -- probably not even in 5 years, even with a MASSIVE multinational effort.

      This mentality simply blows me away. It really does. Imagine if we sat around and talked like this about ANY other technology that's fifty years old. It's like claiming it would take a MASSIVE multi-organizational effort to re-produce a 1969 Plymouth. Or build a black and white television.

      If cost is the argument against re-creating 50-year old missions, the government pisses away funding for half a dozen moon missions every year on stupid shit like marijuana prohibition. Seems it's all about priorities.

  9. Dark Side by kiviQr · · Score: 1

    What about the Dark Side of the moon?

    1. Re:Dark Side by thechemic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The spectrum on that side is reserved for Pink Floyd.

      --
      Let's make like a bird... and get the flock outta here.
    2. Re:Dark Side by sconeu · · Score: 1

      For half of every month, that's Nearside.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    3. Re:Dark Side by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      There is no dark side of the moon, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark.
      -- Pink Floyd

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    4. Re:Dark Side by SCVonSteroids · · Score: 1

      He sure was cruisin' for a bruisin'

      --
      I tend to rant.
    5. Re:Dark Side by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      The phone will be on the dark side for half of the time. ;)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  10. almost as dumb as fake news by supernova87a · · Score: 2

    That is the stupidest, least coherent article I've read in a long time. Does Space.com even have any editors or is it a direct channel from company press releases to puke onto the internet? (and do the content masters here on /. even read the articles?)

    From what I can gather, the story is that they plan to use a relay box to send data from their rover to Earth (if they ever get there) rather than having a higher powered transmitted on the rover.

    Aside from the "we think LTE means a cellphone on the moon" part, is this at all interesting?

    1. Re:almost as dumb as fake news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I think LTE *does* mean cell service on the moon - I doubt they're going to make something custom. They'll take a normal LTE radio/sim card and stick it on their rover using standard off the shelf parts, and have it talk to the relay tower that will be just like on earth with the only difference being the long range backhaul through space to get to earth.

    2. Re:almost as dumb as fake news by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      I doubt that they will actually use off the shelf parts. You need MILSPEC electronics to be able to withstand the temperatures/pressures/radiation of space. I don't think that a little plastic femtocell will meet those requirements.

  11. Calls cost $10/min Data $20/MEG $1/SMS by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Calls cost $10/min Data $20/MEG $1/SMS

    1. Re:Calls cost $10/min Data $20/MEG $1/SMS by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      That is actually quite inexpensive.

  12. OMG by OpenSourced · · Score: 1

    Now the moon, the last quiet place, will be polluted with the sound of incessant dumb yapping. ""Here, I'm here, on the Moon". "No, the MOON, you know, just look up and you'll see me. Ha, ha, ha""I'm waving, can you see me?"

    --
    Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
    1. Re:OMG by TimSSG · · Score: 1
      Yep, I can see a bunch of Lunatics doing that. Tim S.

      Now the moon, the last quiet place, will be polluted with the sound of incessant dumb yapping. ""Here, I'm here, on the Moon". "No, the MOON, you know, just look up and you'll see me. Ha, ha, ha""I'm waving, can you see me?"

    2. Re:OMG by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      No worries, sound doesn't travel in a vacuum so it'll still be perfectly silent if you're outside without a helmet on.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    3. Re:OMG by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      I'd reccommend some good sunblock in that case. I'd wear a painter's mask to keep out the dust

  13. We like the moon! by uncoveror · · Score: 1

    Cos it is close to us. We like the moooooon! http://www.rathergood.com/moon...

    --
    The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
  14. ET phone home by anegg · · Score: 1

    Can you hear me now?

  15. New Verizon commercial... by Zorro · · Score: 1

    "Can you hear me now ...OVER..."

  16. Both Customers, over the next 3 decades... by CAOgdin · · Score: 1

    ...will be very happy.

  17. Re:TMA-1 or CDMA-1? by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

    Is that monolith buried in Tycho just an ancient alien cell tower?

    Or maybe it was put there by the same folks that run this radio station.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  18. Re:But But DIdnt any one watch independence day by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

    The aliens will use it to up load malware to our presidents brain!

    Hmm ... Donald Trump on the moon ... marooned with aliens ...

    ~ ~ * uh, sorry, what was the topic?

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  19. Re:y tho by fizzer06 · · Score: 1
    We'll need it for the National Park at the landing site.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/309829-dems-propose-historical-park-on-the-moon

  20. Make it stop by hughbar · · Score: 1

    HELLO, I'M ON THE MOON. Going to be a little late in, this morning. Etc. etc.

    --
    On y va, qui mal y pense!
  21. Ingress on the moon by Coisiche · · Score: 1

    Although once back on Earth I suspect you will be out of recharge range to keep any captured portals up.