NASA Awards Contract to Develop 5G Communications for Moon

NASA has awarded Modulate Space Corporation a contract to develop key elements of a 5G communications system for use on the lunar surface with built-in Wi-Fi 6, for NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Announced as contract release C26-014, the accelerated effort is organized into two primary work areas that together will develop a scalable, standards-based communications capability designed to support future Moon Base surface operations. The contract is titled the 5G System and Lunar Surface Communications Evaluation and Radio Propagation Measurements contract, and it is a firm-fixed-price contract valued at approximately $38 million.

The work is split into two performance periods. The 5G Network-in-a-Box Development and Lab Demonstration runs from Thursday, Oct. 1, through Jan. 31, 2028. The Lunar 5G and Wi-Fi Integrated Surface Network and Flight Demonstration on the Lunar Surface runs from Monday, Nov. 30, through Dec. 31, 2028.

Through these demonstrations, NASA will acquire technology development of hardware, firmware, and software needed to advance the integrated lunar communications system. The effort will give NASA insight into the system architecture and operational performance while providing the flexibility needed to evolve the technology for future lunar surface communications.