Pvt lander, Nokia to set up 1st lunar mobile network

Intuitive Machines Inc, which made history with its moon landing last year, blasted off Wednesday on a second mission that aims to find resources and test cellular technology on the lunar surface.

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The 15-foot (4.7-metre) lander, called Athena, lifted off at 7:17 pm local time (5.47 am IST) from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The craft is expected to attempt its moon landing in approximately eight days.

Intuitive Machines will be deploying the first cellular network on the moon in partnership with Finnish telecommunications company Nokia Oyj. Upon landing, a hopper and a lunar rover, which are equipped with technology similar to a smartphone, will be deployed and connected to Athena's cellular network as they explore the shadowed craters of the moon.

The lander is also connected to mission control on Earth, which allows for high-definition video streaming and command-and-control communications.