NASA
has selected Altair as the name of the lunar lander the
Constellation Program will use to put humans on the moon.
Altair will be capable of landing four astronauts on the
moon, providing life support and a base for weeklong initial
surface exploration missions, and returning the crew to the
Orion spacecraft that will bring them home to Earth. Altair
will launch aboard an Ares V rocket into low Earth orbit,
where it will rendezvous with the Orion crew vehicle.
Altair finds its origins in Arabic and is derived from a
phrase that means "the flying one." Altair is the brightest
star in the constellation Aquila and is the 12th brightest
star in the night sky. In Latin, Aquila means "eagle,"
reminiscent of the historic lunar exploration module Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969.
Altair is a key component in the Constellation Program,
which is building the spacecraft, launch vehicles and
surface support systems to establish a lunar outpost. This
work will provide experience needed to expand human
exploration farther into the solar system.
NASA currently is seeking input from industry experts and is
developing conceptual designs for Altair. Between 2009 and
2011, the project plans to build hardware and test concepts.
The first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft aboard an
Ares I rocket is scheduled for no later than 2015, when it
will fly to the International Space Station. Altair's first
landing on the moon with an astronaut crew is planned for no
later than 2020.
From NASA
