Lockheed Martin unveils its lunar lander concept vehicle
US space agency said it plans to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972.
(AFP) - US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, responding to NASA’s plans to renew the exploration of the moon and Mars in the next decade, unveiled Wednesday a concept spacecraft able to land on the lunar surface.
The US space agency said it plans to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972 as the initial stage for a future trip to Mars -- part of an official US policy set by President Donald Trump.
To achieve this goal, NASA has called on aerospace industry producers to present plans to build a space station that orbits around the moon, dubbed the "Lunar Gateway," as well as spacecraft that land on the moon.
The orbiting station is supposed to be assembled, with the help of other countries, in the 2020s and be able to accommodate four people by 2026, according to a NASA calendar presented in August.
Lockheed Martin’s concept lunar landing craft, designed to shuttle between the moon’s surface and the orbiting "Lunar Gateway," was unveiled at the World Astronautical Congress in Bremen, Germany.
The craft can accommodate four people, carry one metric ton of equipment, and stay on the moon for up to two weeks without refueling before returning to the orbiting the station.
