The classic economics of supply and demand have stunted the roll-out of internet infrastructure around the world, leaving 2.9 billion people still unconnected today. Addressing this challenge has been the remit of public policy makers, corporations, and researchers for decades.
How would our lives change if we couldn’t rely on secure online communications? Even though it feels impossible, it is a tangible risk with the advent of quantum computing. As the underlying technology quickly gains commercial pace, the demise of current encryption techniques and the risk of extremely powerful cyberattacks looms closer. So close, in fact, that intelligence agencies have allegedly been intercepting and storing encrypted data to decrypt in the very near future.
The unique laboratories at SnT provide the ideal simulated environments for researchers to test their work. This year, SnT added two unique laboratories to its space research facilities.
The NewSpace era is here to stay, and has been fuelled by the possibilities offered by low Earth orbit satellite constellations and the connectivity they provide – so much so, in fact, that even institutions like the EU are now launching their own satellite constellations.
As countries and companies worldwide reach advanced milestones in the new space race and prepare for future missions to the Moon, a number of technical aspects of lunar expeditions have yet to be defined. One of them, connectivity, constitutes a very pressing problem. How will future missions on the Moon communicate with each other, alongside ground stations on Earth?