NASA is launching a 4G mobile network on the moon

NASA将在月球上推出4G移动网络

LONDON — Just as 5G arrives on planet Earth, its predecessor is heading to the moon.

伦敦-随着5G刚刚在地球上出现，5G的上一代-4G正在朝着月球迈进。

NASA has selected Nokia to build the first-ever 4G mobile network on Earth’s natural satellite, the Finnish telecommunications firm announced Monday.

芬兰的电信公司诺基亚周一宣布，NASA已经选择诺基亚在地球的天然卫星上搭建首个4G移动网络。

The company’s U.S. industrial research arm, Bell Labs, is offering up its equipment to NASA to help build out the lunar network, with the aim of launching it in late 2022.

公司位于美国的工业研究分部-Bell Labs负责向NASA提供设备，以协助其在月球上搭建网络。4G网络预计会在2022年晚些时候推出。

“The solution has been specially designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the launch and lunar landing, and to operate in the extreme conditions of space,” Nokia said in a press release.

诺基亚在新闻稿中表示：“解决方案经过特别设计，能够抵御发布和登录时的恶劣条件并且能够在太空极端的条件下运转。”

Under its Artemis program, NASA plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2024 — for the first time in five decades — followed by a “sustainable” human presence by 2028.

根据阿尔忒弥斯计划（Artemis program ），NASA计划在2024年之前将宇航员送往月球，这在50年来尚属首次-随后到2028年，月球上将会出现人类“持续”登月。

The U.S. space agency has chosen Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Dynetics, a lesser-known company, to develop the human landers that will land astronauts on the moon.

美国太空署已经选择Elon Musk的SpaceX，Jeff Bezos的Blue Origin以及Dynetics，一家不太知名的企业，开发人类登陆项目（将宇航员送往月球）。

Nokia said its 4G network will allow astronauts to carry out a number of activities including making voice and video calls, sending important data and deploying payloads. It plans to eventually launch 5G on the moon as well.

Nokia表示，4G网络可以让宇航员进行一系列活动，比如打语音和视频电话，发送重要的数据以及部署有效负载。诺基亚的最终计划是在月球上推出5G。

NASA said in a blog post that it granted Nokia $14.1 million for the project, one of the agency’s various so-called “tipping point” investments focused on lunar exploration.

NASA在博客中表示，它给诺基亚拨付了1410万美元，这是太空署各种所谓针对月球探索的“引爆点”投资项目之一。

“The system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds, and provide more reliability than current standards,” NASA said of the proposed cellular network.

NASA表示，新推出的蜂窝网络可以在更远的距离支持月球表面通信，速度会更快，同时也比当前标准更加稳定。

The deal is a win for Nokia, which has been competing with China’s Huawei and Sweden’s Ericsson for lucrative 5G contracts.

诺基亚目前正在和中国的华为以及瑞典的Ericsson竞争利润丰厚的5G合同，这项交易对于诺基亚而言是一项胜利。

It also comes as major cell phone carriers try to convince people to switch to 5G, which promises much faster download speeds and lower latency. Apple recently revealed the iPhone 12, its first phone range to support 5G.

同时，诺基亚作为一个主要的移动电话运营商，其也尝试鼓励人们开始使用5G。5G将会带来更快的下载速度以及更短的延时。Apple最近推出的iPhone12是首个支持5G的电话产品系列。

来源：CNBC，编辑：Susan