Astronauts Could Soon Keep In Touch Using A Moon-To-Earth Communications Network

As scientists work on tools for longer-term missions to the Moon in the form of 3D-printed batteries and construction materials, there’s still one thing lacking for the astronauts who will be tasked with spending day after day up in orbit: the ability to connect with those on Earth.

To address this issue, Lockheed Martin has created its own subsidiary—dubbed Crescent Space—that will set out to create the first Moon-to-Earth satellite network so that men and women in space can keep in touch with loved ones back home.

In addition to speaking with family, friends, and team members on the ground, the communications system will help provide navigation and information to astronauts and their equipment while trekking through unfamiliar terrain.

Parsec, the network, will make use of a constellation of small lunar satellites that will allow for non-stop, 24/7 connection between astronauts and the Earth. This could be crucial for drawn-out lunar missions, as the GPS equivalent can provide exact positions and directions back to base.

For example, as Engadget pointed out, a crew traveling on a rover may need precise, real-time instructions on how to return back to base without driving into a dangerous crater on the Moon’s surface.

It appears the first Parsec nodes will be operational by 2025, with CEO Joe Landon claiming that the company will be “well positioned” to help NASA with its upcoming Artemis Moon landings that will see humans head back to the Moon for the first time in decades.

[via Engadget and Lockheed Martin, cover image via Lockheed Martin]