Universe Today
“NASA asked industry for innovative and new approaches to advance America’s goal of returning humans to the Moon, and establishing a sustainable, enduring presence there. This is a concept that takes full advantage of both the Gateway and existing technologies to create a versatile, 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 extraordinary exploration of the Moon.”
"The Gateway is key to full, frequent and fast reusability of this lander. Because this lander doesn’t have to endure the punishment of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, it can be re-flown many times over without needing significant and costly refurbishment. That’s a major advantage of the Gateway and of a modular, flexible, reusable approach to deep space exploration.”
The 2018 IAC will be taking place until this Friday, October 5th, and will feature many highlights, lectures, and social events. The main focus of this year's conference is secure access to communication satellites that provide communications, timing and navigation services, and remote sensing data, which is immensely significant given the number of satellites that are expected to be deployed in the coming years.
