4G network on Moon by 2019: Nokia, Vodafone working together to make this happen

Berlin : 4G cell phone network services will go beyond Earth to reach Moon by 2019, Vodafone said.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the German branch of the company revealed that they are teaming up with Nokia to execute the mission.

The network is to support a private lunar rover mission by PTScientists, a private space company based in Berlin, which plans to launch a lander and two small rovers to the moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PTScientists said their team is committed to bringing down the cost of space exploration and democratising access to the moon. 

The moon rover plan aims to study the lunar rover used by the Apollo astronauts during their historic landing in December 1972.

Nokia will be creating a space-grade Ultra Compact Network that is said to be the lightest ever developed - weighing around one kg, the same as a bag of sugar, according to the statement.

The network will help PTScientists' lander in broadcasting live video from Moon to Earth, also facilitating the communication among the lander and rovers.

Under previous communication technologies used in moon exploration, such as analogue radio, transmitting data consumes considerable energy reserves and requires rovers to be stationary.

"The great thing about this... is that it saves so much power, and the less energy we use sending data, the more we have to do science!" said Robert Bohme, CEO and Founder of PTScientists.