What are the two demonstration phases?

NASA has split the work into two distinct performance periods:

• Phase 1 — 5G Network-in-a-Box Development and Lab Demonstration: Oct. 1, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2028. Engineers will assemble the hardware, firmware, and software stack and verify it in a laboratory environment.
• Phase 2 — Lunar 5G and Wi-Fi Integrated Surface Network and Flight Demonstration on the Lunar Surface: Nov. 30, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2028. The system will fly to the Moon and demonstrate real surface operations.

The two phases overlap briefly, with the lab demonstration starting about two months before the flight demonstration period opens.

Why does NASA want 5G on the Moon?

A crewed lunar base will need to move data between astronauts on foot, pressurized rovers, fixed habitats, and possibly robots operating kilometers away. The Moon's airless surface and rugged regolith make line-of-sight radio links feasible but limited: crews lose signal behind crater rims or habitat walls, and pointing a high-gain dish every time an astronaut steps outside is impractical.

A small-cell network, in which multiple low-power nodes hand off connections the way Earth-bound carrier towers do, could keep coverage continuous without requiring line-of-sight to a single antenna. It would also allow crews to stream high-definition video, run coordinated robotics, and feed crew-health telemetry without dedicated dish alignments on every device.

NASA's stated aim through these demonstrations is to acquire the technology needed to advance an integrated lunar communications system while providing insight into how it performs under real lunar conditions.

What does "Network-in-a-Box" mean?

A Network-in-a-Box is a compact, self-contained cellular system — base station, core network, and backhaul combined into a transportable unit. Such packages already deploy in remote disaster zones on Earth. On the Moon, a single unit could anchor a base's communications from day one, then grow into a mesh as additional nodes arrive.

What's the structure of the deal?

The contract uses a firm-fixed-price model — NASA pays a set amount, and the contractor absorbs cost overruns. The agency lists the value at "approximately $38 million." Work proceeds under the two performance periods described above, with the lab demonstration starting first and the flight demonstration layering on top.

The award runs through Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, which has a long history of communications and propulsion research for human spaceflight. Contacts listed on the NASA release are Jennifer Dooren at agency headquarters in Washington and Shauntina Lilly at Glenn.