Solstar Space (Solstar) was recently awarded a NASA Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract valued at $150,000 to develop a next-generation, Lunar Wi-Fi Access Point (LWIFI-AP) to support the agency’s Artemis program and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiatives.
NASA has identified critical communication infrastructure requirements to support its upcoming missions as momentum builds around lunar exploration. One crucial aspect of the Artemis and CLPS programs includes deployment of SWaP-efficient (Size, Weight, and Power) Wi-Fi and 3GPP communications hardware across a range of lunar assets. This will include landers, rovers, and habitats as well as cislunar (moon orbit) spacecraft and assets like the Lunar Gateway.
Solstar’s proposed LWIFI-AP is designed to meet NASA’s demand for a space-rated, multi-mode, multi-protocol, and multi-band wireless access points capable of operating in extreme lunar conditions. This system will enable robust communications between astronauts, robotic systems, lunar vehicles, lunar surface-based and cislunar orbital assets. Solstar’s LWIFI-AP will be engineered to support real-time mission data flow, navigation, and scientific collaboration.
NASA’s technical requirements include the use of Wi-Fi across mission systems and subsystems within Artemis, such as the Human Landing System (HLS), CLPS payloads, Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) services, and the Lunar Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) and airlock module. Today, a commercial solution meeting these requirements is unavailable. The NASA SBIR contract with Solstar will support development of a commercial product which meets the space qualification and environmental hardening needed for these mission-critical operations.
Solstar’s solution will address these challenges by providing hardware engineered for radiation tolerance, thermal survivability and low-SWaP constraints. The space qualified Solstar LWIFI-AP will fill a key technology gap for NASA and its network of Artemis and CLPS contractors. The work performed under this Phase I contract will lay the foundation for a future flight-ready system capable of being hosted on a wide range of lunar mission platforms.
Founder and CEO, Solstar Space Company, Brian Barnett said, “Just like Wi-Fi revolutionized life on Earth, it will be essential for living and working on the Moon. Solstar’s mission has always been to keep people and systems connected in space, and this award moves us one step closer to enabling that vision for lunar missions. We are excited to contribute to NASA’s Artemis and CLPS programs by developing the communications infrastructure that future lunar operations will depend on. “Receiving this SBIR award is a milestone for Solstar and for space-based connectivity. As NASA prepares for a sustained human presence on the Moon, commercial innovation will be essential. With the Solstar LWIFI-AP, we aim to bring commercial-grade connectivity to the Moon, enabling seamless communication between crew, equipment, and mission control. We are proud to lead the way in developing the Wi-Fi backbone for the lunar economy.”