Europe unveils plans to bring ‘GPS’ and Skype to the Moon with satellites
The ESA has kicked off development of a satellite constellation that will orbit the Moon and provide navigation and telecommunication services to lunar explorers. If all goes according to plan, the new system could be in place in the late 2020s.
The ESA believes that Earth’s celestial companion is set to become a busy destination, with commercial companies and nations from across the world all wanting a slice of the ‘eighth continent’.
The new constellation, called Moonlight, will make it easier and cheaper for a fledgling lunar economy to blossom. For now contracts have been awarded to two European industrial consortia to study the feasibility of such an undertaking over the next year and a half and propose technical solutions for the ESA to choose from.
A mission called the Lunar Pathfinder is already in the works, which will test the novel GNSS receiver in orbit around the Moon. The satellite, built by the UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), is scheduled to launch in 2024. SSTL also leads one of the consortia that will develop the proposal for the new constellation. The other is headed by Italy’s Telespazio.
The constellation will likely consist of three or four satellites. Additional satellites might be added to beef up the communications aspect of the offering. The ESA expects the constellation will be operated by the private sector, which will sell the service to the agency and other customers in a similar fashion to how SpaceX sells service missions and crew launches to the ISS.