NASA has awarded Modulate Space Corporation a firm-fixed-price contract worth about $38 million to develop key elements of a 5G communications system for the lunar surface, with built-in Wi‑Fi 6, for Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The work is aimed at building a standards-based network for future Moon base surface operations and includes both laboratory development and a planned lunar flight demonstration.
The contract covers two main phases. The first runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 January 2028 and centres on a 5G Network-in-a-Box development and lab demonstration. The second, scheduled for 30 November to 31 December 2028, will test an integrated lunar 5G and Wi‑Fi surface network in flight. NASA will use the programme to advance hardware, firmware and software needed for a scalable communications architecture.
The agency wants the demonstrations to provide data on system architecture and operational performance while preserving room for future upgrades to lunar communications. The contract is tied to surface operations rather than any already deployed lunar network, making it an early-stage development effort rather than a completed rollout.