The lander would be capable of carrying four astronauts at a time and is much more powerful than anything NASA has used to get to the surface of our lunar satellite.
The lunar modules used by NASA during the Apollo missions carried two people and weighed 4.7 tons without fuel.
Lockheed Martin’s new concept would weigh a staggering 68 tons when fully fuelled however.
At 14 metres tall, it would also be twice as tall as the Lunar Module which could only stay on the moon for a couple of days.
The technology used by Lockheed would be based on NASA’s successful Orion spacecraft and is designed to ferry astronauts from NASA’s planned Deep Space Gateway – which the space agency is planning to have orbit the moon by 2024 – to the lunar surface.
Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager of Commercial Civil Space at Lockheed Martin Space, said: “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 Deep Space Gateway is a collaboration between the US and Russia to create a lunar space station that will act as a “gateway to deep space”.
The NASA-led program will see the two space agencies build a lunar satellite much like the International Space Station (ISS) that can home astronauts and will orbit the moon.
The station will allow astronauts to study the moon in close detail and will also be used a pit-stop for astronauts travelling farther out into the solar system, particularly Mars.
Lockheed Martin’s design will remain at the Deep Space Gateway until astronauts need to be taken to the moon.
The moon lander can then stay on the surface of the moon for a fortnight before returning to the ‘mothership’, where it will be refuelled and readied for its next lunar landing.