The International Telecommunication Union is preparing to consider regulating lunar communications at the upcoming 2023 World Radiocommunications Conference. This could be a starting point for future work on regulating communications on the Moon.
The upcoming international telecommunications conference organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will address the important issue of regulating lunar communications. Delegates to WRC-23 in 2023 may decide to include the issue on the agenda of the next conference in 2027, ITU Deputy Director Joanne Wilson said.
At the WRC-23 conference, scheduled for November-December 2023, countries will discuss changes to the Radio Regulations, the international agreement governing terrestrial and satellite radio communications.
Wilson did not reveal the specific issues that will be considered at this ITU annual meeting but stressed the importance of starting discussions on these issues. In an ITU article published in July, NASA lunar and human spaceflight manager Kathy Sham noted the growing demand for spectrum for activities on the Moon.
The issue of regulating lunar communications will be discussed at the World Radiocommunications
“Mission planners, engineers, scientists, architects, and regulators must work together to ensure adequate spectrum management and access for all users.”
Sham also mentioned two specific topics that will be considered: protecting future radio astronomy observatories on the far side of the Moon, which is inaccessible to signals from Earth, and the possibility of allocating spectrum for space exploration on the Moon.
At the same time, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already received applications for spectrum for lunar communications. FCC Space Bureau Chief Julie Kearney mentioned during a panel discussion the example of Lockheed Martin’s application to create a Parsec satellite network to provide communications and navigation services on the Moon.
The FCC has already issued the first lunar communications license to Intuitive Machines, which will allow interaction with their first lunar lander, Nova-C, which will launch as part of the IM-1 mission as early as November this year and will operate on the Moon for about two weeks.
