Lockheed Martin unveils lunar lander design to get humans to the Moon by 2024

The Verge ^ | Apr 10, 2019, 3:42pm EDT | Loren Grush

[BenLurkin]

Lockheed Martin is unveiling new designs for a human lunar lander concept that can take people to and from the lunar surface. And the company says it can be ready within the next five years....

The vehicle consists of two elements: a lander portion that can travel down to the ground, and an ascent vehicle that can lift astronauts off the Moon’s surface. The lander is meant to travel to and from a new space station that NASA wants to build around the Moon called the Gateway. If all of these elements are created, astronauts would travel to the Gateway from Earth and then take the lander from the station to the Moon. The ascent vehicle would then bring them back to the station.

This new lander is separate from another lander concept that Lockheed revealed last year at the International Astronautical Congress. That design called for a much heavier, reusable lander that could take astronauts to the Moon and back in one piece — without the need of a separate ascent element. But...Lockheed has been working on a design that could be developed much more quickly.

A big advantage of this new Lockheed lander concept is that the company won’t be building the vehicle completely from scratch. Many of the elements needed for the vehicle are derived from Orion, a crew capsule that Lockheed has been working on for the last decade. Orion, which is nearing its first flight, is meant to fly astronauts into deep space and dock with the Gateway in the future. Some of the same materials and systems used in Orion could be incorporated into this new lander, such as a lot of the internal equipment, flight computers, life support systems, and more.

[PA Engineer]

BTW, the astronaut next to the lander leg: male or female?

You never know these days.

It does seem to be Von Braun's original concept. I don't understand the Lunar space station concept (article). They're going leaving the lander first stage on the moon and then dock or dock and then land. I would think they may want to design a reusable lander and shuttle the astronauts to the space station. Doesn't make sense.

[robowombat]

Nixon certainly did cancel the last three Apollo missions all by himself after one of his other stiffs on the WH staff pointed out the millions to be ‘saved’.

[bantam]

Why????????

[NorthMountain]

I would think they may want to design a reusable lander and shuttle the astronauts to the space station. Doesn't make sense.

Article states that a fully reusable lander was the original design. That makes a lot more sense when the mission involves a permanent orbital station, rather than a single landing and ascent as in Apollo.

[NorthMountain]

Tricky Dick didn’t slash the NASA budget ... that came from the ‘Rat controlled Congress.

[a fool in paradise]

Here come the suede demin secret police
We’ve come for your uncool neice

[Reily]

Ok

[DAC21]

r2d2 is in love.

[Wuli]

“This new lander is separate from another lander concept that Lockheed revealed last year at the International Astronautical Congress. That design called for a much heavier, reusable lander that could take astronauts to the Moon and back in one piece — without the need of a separate ascent element. But...Lockheed has been working on a design that could be developed much more quickly.”

Great. A lander that is not reusable, makes a great long-term contract for an outfit like Lockhhed Martin which will get to keep building them as often as NASA uses them up.

I applaud the “gateway” idea as a moon-orbiting platform and for a future jumping off point for deep space travel, that won’t require breaking earth gravity for a deep space vehicle to begin its journey.

But we should be now past NOT building reusable vehicles for space. Being reusable should be a must and that goal should not be expended just to meet short-term political goals.

This is not about Trump, and him and Pence changing the goal posts from 2028 to 2024. It’s about the idea that there was nothing wrong and a lot that was good about the 2028 deadline. Trimming the requirements just to meet the 2024 deadline will in the end obtain an accomplishment that will be less, in many ways, than it could have been if it were left to 2028.

[Jmouse007]

2001AD has come and gone, and I’m still waiting for the Pan Am plane, and that glorious “Wheel in Space”!

Come on guys, I’m running out of time :o)

[HonkyTonkMan]

Suitcase Jefferson

[SunkenCiv]

LM will have to hitch a ride on a SpaceX booster. :^) For the FH launch today, I loaded a stream on the Roku, noted the T-minus, then set an alarm clock for a few minutes to go, because I was dozing off. When the alarm went off, the screen was still on, and the T-minus at 10 something. I went to another live stream and the craft was in flight. I was ****ed off. :^)

[Bob434]

me too but i thought it looked like rachael maddow- thinking the site that had the photo drawn was probably flaming liberals