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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Space Missions & Launches

Lander

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

/ˈlændər/nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, lander means: A spacecraft designed to land on the surface of a planet, moon, asteroid or comet and usually stay in one place to make measurements.

In Turkish: iniş aracı, iniş modülü

How it is used

Unlike a rover, a lander does not drive around, although it may carry a rover. Teams talk about the descent, touchdown and landing site, and describe a successful 'soft landing' or a failed 'hard landing'.

Example sentences

  1. In 2023 India's Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down near the Moon's south pole.

  2. The lander's solar panels must stay clean to keep its instruments running.

Common collocations

  • lunar lander
  • Mars lander
  • lander and rover
  • soft landing
  • roverA wheeled vehicle that drives across the surface of a planet or moon, either robotic and remote-controlled or driven by astronauts.
  • space probeA robotic spacecraft without a crew that is sent to study planets, moons, comets or deep space and sends its data back to Earth.
  • missionA planned flight or project in space with a specific goal, such as sending a probe to Mars or taking a crew to a space station.
  • heat shieldA protective layer on a spacecraft that takes the extreme heat of entering an atmosphere, so that the crew or instruments inside stay safe.

More terms: Space Missions & Launches

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