When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the Moon in the summer of ’69, all they had was a single Westinghouse camera beaming grainy footage of history back to the Lunar Module and down to Earth. But if and when we finally return to the regolith, we won’t just have cameras—we’ll have cell service capable of streaming HD video to our screens 384,400 kilometers away.
At least that’s the hope of Nokia, telecom company Vodaphone Germany, and private spaceflight company PTScientists, who plan on sending two Audi rovers equipped with 4G mobile networks to the Moon, in what would be the first privately funded lunar mission. The mission would fly on the shoulders of new-space giant SpaceX and one of their Falcon 9 rockets sometime in 2019.
Interest rocketing upwards? Wait, there’s more! Today’s episode of Muskwatch also breaks down Elon’s torrential tweetstorm about U.S. infrastructure, California’s latest regulatory efforts to make fully autonomous cars on our roads a reality, and the Musk Man’s infatuation with a big ‘ol drill.
Muskwatch airs on Nerdist.com and YouTube every Tuesday, but you can hack the planet and watch it two full days earlier on Sunday if you’re an Alpha subscriber. Find out how you can get 30 days free (and be 48 hours smarter than your dumb friends) right here.
What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
WHAT ELSE IS ELON MUSK UP TO?
- Can Elon Musk solve Tesla’s Model 3 production problems?
- The Falcon Heavy launch has spawned a ton of conspiracy theories
- Elon Musk and SpaceX want to get you drunk on Mars
