At the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, Lockheed Martin revealed its crewed lunar lander concept and showed how the re-usable lander ‘aligns’ with NASA’s lunar Gateway (a planned lunar-orbit space station) and future Mars missions.

The crewed lunar lander is a single-stage fully re-usable system that incorporates flight-proven technologies and systems from NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

In its initial configuration, the lander would accommodate a crew of four and 2,000lb of cargo on the surface for up to two weeks, before returning to the Gateway without refuelling on the surface.

Lisa Callahan, general manager of Commercial Civil Space at Lockheed Martin Space, said: “NASA asked industry for innovative approaches to advance America’s goal of returning humans to the moon, and establishing an enduring presence there.

“This is a concept that takes full advantage of both the Gateway and existing technologies to create a versatile and powerful lander that can be built quickly and affordably. This lander could be used to establish a surface base, deliver scientific or commercial cargo, and conduct exploration of the moon.”

Tim Cichan, space exploration architect at Lockheed Martin Space, who presented the lander concept at IAC, said: “The Gateway is key to full, frequent and fast re-usability of this lander; and because it doesn’t have to endure the punishment of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the lander can be used many times over without needing significant and costly refurbishment.”

An animation of the Lander can be seen at the Web site (vimeo.com/293133933).