Mobiles on the moon? Nasa prepares trial for takeoff

Did you know that NASA was building a base of operations in the south pole of the Moon? Did you know colonists would be living and working there? Did you know that plans are in motion to establish a satellite phone network which would allow said colonists to communicate with one another? Well, it's all true...

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After conquering the farthest corners of the globe, mobile phones are now destined for the final frontier - space.

Even in the cosmos there will be no escaping the ringtone as Nasa and the British National Space Centre (BNSC) prepare to trial a mobile phone network for the moon.

Astronauts and robots exploring the moon's surface will only be a text message away after the system goes live later this century.

The satellite system should ensure a full four-bar signal for lunar colonists living in the base Nasa wants to build at the south pole of the moon after 2020.

The stellar vision of the mobile's future even tops the effort that managed to get a text message to the top of Mount Everest.

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Cool article.: up:

I would suspect that NASA would set up some sort of 'Relay-communication infrastructure' for the planned moonbase, and since traditional cell towers would be cumbersome to transport and construct on the Moon, I suppoese a satellite relay system is more likely. This would allow for communication between different widely scattered "stations" or remotely-controlled research equipment and the Home Base.

If you put a satellite in a stationary orbit over the planned South Lunar Pole station, I suppose you would have a clear line-of-site from the satellite to much of the Southern Lunar surface. This line-of-site would be desired for high-bandwidth communication, such as video, photos, and the data stream from research equipment.

I would also suspect that since the proposed permanent Moon Base is a precursor to a planned future permanent presence on Mars, then I would think that a similar satellite system is in the VERY earlier planning stages for the future Mars Mission. Many broad aspects of the 'Moon-to-Mars' program such as this have been discussed and brainstormed since President Bush announced that 'Moon to Mars' program back in 2004.