By 
July 22nd, 2021
M1 Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover.
Credit: Lunar Outpost
In late 2022, an Intuitive Machines Nova-C Moon lander is to carry several payloads, including a Nokia LTE/4G communications system to the lunar South Pole – a wireless communications network on the Moon that serves as a communications gateway to Earth.
Nova-C will also carry an M1 Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover — built by Lunar Outpost, headquartered in Golden, Colorado — that is equipped with Nokia’s LTE/4G user equipment and deployable antennas.
Lunar Outpost’s rover will tote several other commercial and scientific payloads on-board during the mission, scheduled for late 2022.
Long-range, low-latency communications
Once on the lunar surface, MAPP will drive off the lander to study the capabilities of Nokia’s lunar LTE/4G communications system.
According to a Lunar Outpost statement, over the course of its 12-day mission, MAPP will traverse the lunar surface and enable Nokia to collect performance data on its LTE/4G system. The intent is to showcase an effective LTE/4G architecture on the Moon, Nokia, Lunar Outpost, and Intuitive Machines will provide high-throughput, long-range, and low-latency communications on the lunar surface.
Ice-hauling Heavy In-situ Propellant Production Off-world Rover (HIPPO Rover).
Credit: Lunar Outpost
“Intra-lunar communication will be a linchpin for large-scale future efforts on the Moon,” said Justin Cyrus, CEO and founder of Lunar Outpost.
Cyrus also noted that the MAPP rover will serve as the mobility platform for this crucial mission, with the Moon machinery built to take on the temperature range and rough landscape at the lunar south pole.
Lunar Outpost’s Heavy In-situ Propellant Production Off-world Rover (HIPPO Rover) is also in development, able to extract and transport over 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of ice at a time.
For more information about Lunar Outpost and their creative Moon gear, go to:
Posted in Space News
