Spacewatch: Boeing proposes direct flights to moon in 2024

US corporation says its lunar lander concept would reduce 'complexity and risk' of Nasa mission

The American aerospace corporation Boeing has proposed a lunar lander to Nasa that it claims would reduce the "complexity and risk" of returning astronauts to the surface of the moon in 2024. Nasa's original plan was that astronauts would launch from Earth and dock with a space station in lunar orbit before transferring to a lander. It even awarded the first contracts to build the Lunar Gateway in May.

Boeing's lander concept would bypass the Lunar Gateway station, allowing astronauts arriving from Earth direct access to the moon's surface. The concept is similar to the Apollo lunar landing missions of the 1960s. Boeing says its lander would still be capable of docking with the Lunar Gateway if needed.