Communication in space: the moon will soon have its own internet

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It has been nearly five decades since astronauts last set foot on the Moon as part of the Apollo program. Since then, robotic space exploration has witnessed amazing technological development and scientific breakthroughs. Finally, humanity will return to the surface of the moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program.

However, before NASA can start moving people to our natural satellite, it has to build a network there. That would go beyond low Earth orbit and connect space to Earth in some kind of internet connection. The space agency’s response to that is LunaNet.

This vast network, designed to provide connectivity and services to lunar missions, began its journey at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. An Internet-like architecture was initially proposed in 2019 in response to a demand for communications and navigation solutions for small satellite towers around the Moon.

This is where things took off. Experts came together to develop this concept, and the NASA team is now really hard at work making LunaNet a reality.

The backbone of this “lunar Internet” is delay/disruption tolerant networking (DTN). DTN will ensure that the data travels through the network and reaches its destination even if it encounters potential signal disturbances.

Astronauts will be able to use LunaNet across many nodes and communicate with crews on and around the lunar surface in the same way we use Wi-Fi here on Earth. In addition, missions using the network will have access to location and time signals, allowing astronauts and rovers to navigate the rugged lunar terrain and return to their base.

LunaNet will also use space weather instruments to identify potentially dangerous solar activity, such as flares that erupt from the sun and send harsh radiation toward astronauts. With this new communication, the crew can be alerted directly.

This will reduce the time it takes to manage the network on the ground to do so. These warnings will be comparable to the warnings we receive on our phones when the weather is dangerous. The hull’s capabilities will also include the possibility of search and rescue on the Moon.

LunaNet’s science services will allow the nodes to use optical, radio, and infrared communications links to make measurements that will help researchers from Earth better understand the moon. For example, nodes could allow baseline monitoring of our satellite to perform an in-depth analysis of the lunar environment.

Researchers can also use LunaNet’s antennas to peer into deep space and search for radio signals from distant celestial bodies. Altogether, the architecture’s capabilities will give scientists a new platform to test space theories, allowing them to expand their scientific knowledge.

NASA recently released a “Draft LunaNet Interoperability Specification” in order to begin development of this new “lunar Internet”. Technical discussions among industry experts from around the world are expected to follow.

With LunaNet, the space agency will gain more insights into space communication and be able to plan future trips to other alien worlds. By sending teams to the Moon, NASA is building the foundation that will allow astronauts to explore deep space. The moon will be a testbed for technologies like LunaNet that will help humanity get to Mars and beyond.

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