Nokia has paired with Axiom Space to equip the company's next-generation spacesuits with advanced 4G/LTE communications.

The spacesuits will be used by astronauts on Axiom's Artemis III lunar mission.

According to Nokia, the tie-up will see the two companies incorporate high-speed cellular-network capabilities in the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), supporting HD video, telemetry data, and voice transmission over multiple kilometers on the Moon.

This will help crewmembers on the Artemis III lunar mission, due to take place in 2026, capture real-time video and communicate with mission controllers on Earth.

"Adding high-speed 4G/LTE network capability on the Moon will serve as a vital bridge linking astronauts to Earth, facilitating crucial data exchange, and enabling high-definition video communication over long distances," said Russell Ralston, Axiom Space executive vice president of extravehicular activity.

In Nokia's announcement this week, the vendor noted that it plans to deploy the first cellular network on the Moon as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission, which is scheduled to be delivered to the launch site in 2024.

Nokia said it aims to demonstrate that cellular connectivity can facilitate crucial communications during future lunar or Mars missions. The company added that its Lunar Surface Communications System (LSCS), developed by Nokia Bell Labs, will be deployed during IM-2 and will be further adapted for use in the AxEMU spacesuit.

“Just as astronauts will need life support, shelter, and food, they will need advanced networks to communicate with each other and go about their crucial work," said Thierry E. Klein, president of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia.

"We are taking advantage of the same standards-based technologies that connect billions of devices on Earth every day, while bringing new innovation and technologies to bear on the specific challenges encountered in space."

Axiom's spacesuits will provide NASA with commercially developed human systems needed to access, live, and work on and around the Moon.