The group is working with Vodafone, Audi and Nokia on the project, rendering it the first privately funded lunar mission.
Vodafone and PTScientists (the ‘PT’ stands for part-time) will connect two Audi lunar Quattro rovers to a base station in the landing module. They will use a small piece of hardware developed by its technology partner, Nokia, in order to establish the network. Nokia will develop a space-worthy variant of its Ultra Compact Network, which will weigh barely 1kg.
The launch is scheduled for 2019. The hardware will be launched from Cape Canaveral using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket system, which is partially reusable.
Once the network has been established, the group intends to stream high-definition video from the Moon to Earth. This will allow for the first live HD video feed of the Moon’s surface; this will be available to a global audience via a deep space link that connects to the PTScientists’ server in Berlin.
PTScientists also hope to...