It's Lockheed Martin's idea to create a reusable lander that transports people and goods to the moon.

In the midst of all of NASA's recent discussions on the return of humans to the moon, aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin has announced the design of a landing gear capable of transporting people to and from the lunar surface. For now, the vehicle is only a concept, but Lockheed hopes that it will be useful to NASA in the pursuit of its lunar human exploration projects.

The Lockheed spacecraft is specifically designed to transport people to and from a space station – hailed as the gateway – that NASA hopes to build in orbit around the moon. Since the beginning of last year, NASA has discussed creating a small habitat for astronauts who can live in the vicinity of the moon. This bridge could serve as a point of passage for astronauts to live and carry out research, according to the space agency. From there, explorers could go to the surface of the Moon or head to other distant destinations such as asteroids or Mars.

NASA has submitted updated proposals for the bridge this summer. The specifications use many different pressurized modules, all together to create a home and a space research laboratory. The modules are supposed to be delivered in lunar orbit by a massive new rocket that NASA is building, called Space Launch System or SLS. The crew members also had to reach the bridge via a future space-based spy pod, launched by SLS, called Orion, which Lockheed developed for the space agency.

But while NASA was working on the design of the bridge, the space agency did not explain in detail how it planned to get people from the space station to the next moon. This is because NASA wants the commercial space industry to lead the way in the design and construction of lunar landing gear. Space agency administrator Jim Bridenstine said NASA wanted to engage in an exploration campaign to return to the moon, a campaign that will depend heavily on private companies to provide the equipment needed to set up of lunar shoes.

To this end, NASA plans to start small. In April, the space agency issued a request for information, or a request for information, on plans for small robotic undercarriages capable of weighing at least 22 pounds on the lunar surface, a program called CLPS. In the meantime, NASA has announced that it will soon be soliciting proposals for larger landing gear that can potentially carry humans. Lockheed hopes to submit this concept for the program, called FLEx, once the final solicitation is published. But for now, society lets the public enter the early stages of design. "It's just for us that we share some of our initial design work to help NASA build a list of real needs," said Tony Antonelli, director of advanced programs at Lockheed Martin and a former astronaut. The edge.

Lockheed Martin has published a white paper on the design of the LG and plans to go into detail about it at a presentation today at the International Astronautical Congress in Germany. The reusable undercarriage could carry a crew of two to three kilograms and up to 2,000 pounds of cargo from the bridge to the moon for about two weeks, allowing astronauts to conduct searches and take samples from the ground. He could then take off from the surface and dock at the bridge, where he could be refueled for future trips.

Image: Lockheed Martin

Just like the walkway itself, the LG would also make its way near the Moon on the future SLS. The rocket would deploy the lander into Earth orbit and the lander would then travel to the bridge. He would also receive his fuel at the bridge, provided by cargo launched from Earth. However, Lockheed says that it is possible that the LG will run on fuel collected a day on the lunar surface. The engines of the undercarriage are designed to work with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the main chemical components of water. Lunar scientists are quite optimistic about the presence of water ice on the surface of the moon. Lockheed says these resources could be exploited and divided to form a rocket booster.

"We must always find exactly where the water is on the moon and set up an installation to exploit these resources," Antonelli explains. "So the initial capacity is that you can fill it at the bridge and go back and forth. And then, the ability also exists in the future when … you could fill it to the surface, climb up and come back to the bridge, also during a round trip. "

Lockheed also hopes to build on what it has learned about building Orion to build the vehicle and reduce costs. Antonelli says the company plans to use some of the same Orion instruments that were built for Orion and are already designed to withstand the harsh environment of radiation from space. In addition, some of Orion's large curved parts could also be used on the LG, and Lockheed's suppliers already own machines to make these parts, Antonelli explains. "You can avoid a complete development cycle for some of the larger parts of it," he says.

Image: Lockheed Martin

Antonelli will not say how much the LG could cost, noting that Lockheed still offers an estimated price for NASA. By comparison, the development of the Orion capsule is expected to cost about $ 19.47 billion and has not yet transported people. This East A different type of vehicle, though, and the undercarriage might not be as expensive if he cannibalize Orion's drawings.

But this lander relies on the completion of the SLS, as well as on the initial construction of the bridge. The SLS program has experienced delays and cost overruns, with its first test flight scheduled for 2020. And while NASA hopes to start launching elements of the bridge as early as 2022 people will not be going to the station until 2024 at the earliest. . At this point, it is possible that a module with which the lander will dock at the bridge will be available. This means that if NASA finally gives the go-ahead to Lockheed's design, it will only take him a few years to get close to the moon.

Everything is still in its infancy, and Lockheed just announces what he can do for NASA. But NASA's Bridenstine has made it clear that when the space agency goes to the moon, the process will be sustainable by using reusable materials from commercial companies. "We want space stations around the moon that can be present for a very long time," Bridenstine said in August at a meeting of NASA's advisory board. "And we want landing gear coming and going from this space station."