images

Space tug and lunar lander in Earth orbit

by

Walter B. Myers/Novapix

Reference

e-exl01-00027

Date

2010-03-09

With the space tug firmly docked with the lunar lander, the two will function as a single spacecraft for the duration of a 3-day trip to the moon. The pair would likely spend some time in Earth orbit prior to departure, checking systems and preparing the lander for its eventual journey to the Moon's surface. The lunar lander pictured here has capacity for a crew of four plus cargo. The space tug itself could have a crew of two, making the total crew capacity of the joined spacecraft about the same as today's Space Shuttle.