Nasa is installing internet on the moon

Question

NASA and Nokia have started working together to put a cellular network on the moon to create building blocks for human life on other planets in the future. A SpaceX rocket is set to launch later this year bringing a 4G network to the moon. NASA’s Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon this decade and is the driving motive for this project.

Answer 1

As for the claim of this article, the deputy associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, spoke to CNN directly. We can assume that the quotes pulled from the administrator are accurate as they have not been refuted (Bantock). The author, Jack Bantock, has been a digital producer for CNN for three years, and has a bachelor's of arts in history from University of Warwick. The claim made in the title of the article has been replicated by other news sources and NASA.gov themselves, who stated that this effort to put 4G on the moon advances NASA's goal of sending astronauts to the moon as well as address challenges with wifi connectivity on Earth (NASA), but streaming and texting on the moon is a slightly exaggerated version of the actual use of 4G, which is video transmission and communication between astronauts and Earth (Nokia). Additionally, the links to claims made within the article were less reliable. One claim made by the author stated that one of the moon rover's will scan a crater for moon ice, but the link included is a CNN article about ice on Jupiter's moon, Europa, and made no mention of Earth's moon or the rovers (Strickland). Where that information came from is unclear to me. Additionally, the article asserts "Personal devices could connect to such networks, allowing space colonists to use smartphones that can access all the apps and services available to those back on Earth." (Bantock) However, the link provided is an article written by the author about an AI-app used for scouting soccer talent (Bantock). While the misaligned links may not have been intended as sources, it's still not consistently clear where some of these statements come from. Aside from that, the other sources cited are NASA and Nokia, the company delivering the 4G. Overall, the claim that NASA is putting wifi on the moon is true, but aspects of some of the claims made within the article and title are bordering on half-truths. 

1. Bantock, Jack. “Streaming and Texting on the Moon: Nokia and NASA Are Taking 4G into Space | CNN Business.” CNN, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/24/tech/nokia-moon-4g-network-nasa-spc/index.html. 

2. Using the Moon to Address Earth’s Digital Inequality - NASA. 5 Oct. 2021, https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/using-the-moon-to-address-earths-digital-inequality/.

3. "Nokia selected by DARPA to design communications services infrastructure framework for future lunar economy." Nokia, 23 Jan. 2024, https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2024/01/23/nokia-selected-by-darpa-to-design-communications-services-infrastructure-framework-for-future-lunar-economy/. 

4. Strickland, Ashley. “New Type of Salty Ice May Exist on Extraterrestrial Ocean Moons.” CNN, 20 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/world/salty-ice-europa-ocean-moons-scn/index.html.

5. Bantock, Jack. “Top Soccer Clubs Are Using This AI-Powered App to Scout Future Stars | CNN Business.” CNN, 1 Mar. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/01/tech/aiscout-app-soccer-scouting-spc-intl/index.html.

Comments

Your fact check was very in depth and informative. Speaking on the credibility of the people making the claim makes this fact check reliable. The sources you provided supported your fact check and shows that the claim is indeed true.