ノキアとＮＡＳＡ、月面に４Ｇ携帯ネットワーク設置へ

【ヘルシンキＡＦＰ＝時事】フィンランドの通信機器大手ノキアは19日、月に初の携帯電話ネットワークを構築する契約を米航空宇宙局（NASA）との間で結んだと発表した。契約金額は1410万ドル（約14億9000万円）。（写真は資料写真）
　ノキアによると、月面への有人着陸を目指す「アルテミス計画」の一環として、「非常にコンパクトで低出力、宇宙での利用に耐える」４Ｇのワイヤレスネットワークを月面に構築する事業者として同社を選定した。
　ネットワーク機器は、米企業インテュイティブ・マシーンズが製造した跳躍するように月面を移動する「ホッパー」と呼ばれる機械を遠隔操作して、２０２２年後半に月面に設置される。
　ノキアは、ネットワークは機器設置後に自動的に構築され、これによって「必要不可欠な指揮・管理機能、月面ローバーの遠隔操作、リアルタイムのナビゲーション、高精細動画のストリーミング」が利用可能になるとしている。将来的には超高速の５Ｇネットワークへの更新も可能だという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/10/20-12:18）

With competition among Earth's telecoms providers as fierce as ever, equipment maker Nokia announced its expansion into a new market on Monday, winning a deal to install the first cellular network on the Moon.
The Finnish equipment manufacturer said it was selected by NASA to deploy an ultra-compact, low-power, space-hardened wireless 4G network on the lunar surface, as part of the US space agency's plan to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon by 2030.
The $14.1 million contract, awarded to Nokia's US subsidiary, is part of NASA's Artemis programme which aims to send the first woman, and next man, to the moon by 2024.
The astronauts will begin carrying out detailed experiments and explorations which the agency hopes will help it develop its first human mission to Mars.
Nokia's network equipment will be installed remotely on the Moon's surface using a lunar hopper built by Intuitive Machines in late 2022, Nokia said.
The network will self-configure upon deployment, the firm said in a statement, adding that the wireless technology will allow for vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.
The 4G equipment can be updated to a super-fast 5G network in the future, Nokia said.
In all, NASA announced last week it would distribute $370 million to 14 companies to supply Tipping Point technologies for its mission, which include robotics and new methods of harvesting the resources required for living on the moon, such as oxygen and energy sources.
The bulk of the funding went to companies researching cryogenic propellants, freezing liquids used to fuel spacecraft.
Among them, Elon Musk's SpaceX received $53.2 million for a demonstration of the transferring of ten metric tons of liquid oxygen between tanks on a starship vehicle, NASA said.