Amateur Radio Payload on Lunar-orbiting 4M-LXS To Transmit Messages from the Moon

By Doug Lung
published

With the right equipment you may be able to receive messages from the moon sometime late this October! The Amateur Radio payload on the lunar-orbiting 4M-LXS spacecraft will carry up to 2,500 thirteen-character digital messages to lunar orbit for retransmission using the JT65B mode on 145.990 MHz.

The mission is scheduled to run slightly longer than eight days, with the lunar flyby occurring about halfway through the mission. The orbiter is one of the test models for Beijing's new lunar probe Chang’e-5, which will land on the moon, collect samples, and return to Earth.


LUXspace said the 4M spacecraft will transmit continuously on 145.980 MHz (+/- 2.9 kHz) at 1.5 W into a simple quarter-wave monopole antenna. “The transmission is based on a 1-minute sequence and a 5-minute cycle. The transmission will start 4670 seconds (77.8 minutes) after launch.” You will need the free WJST software to decode the signals.

More details are available on AMSAT UK's 4M-LXS Lunar amateur radio payload web page and LUXspace's Manfried Memorial Moon Mission (4M) website.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.