Leidos Dynetics

Dynetics has been awarded a contract under NASA’s Artemis program to design a Human Landing System (HLS) and compete to build a system to take the first woman and next man to the lunar surface by 2024.

Human Spaceflight & LandersHuman Landing SystemMoonMoon

Created: 2020-05-09

Updated: 2025-09-06

Classification

Human Spaceflight & Landers

Category

Human Landing System

Fields

Moon

Status

Concept

First launch

Not announced

Dynetics proposed a robust team with more than 25 subcontractors specializing in both the larger elements and the smaller system-level components of the Dynetics Human Landing System. The large team capitalizes on Dynetics’ experience as an integrator on military and defense contracts with large subcontractor teams.

The Dynetics Human Landing System concept includes a single element providing the ascent and descent capabilities, with multiple modular propellant vehicles prepositioned to fuel the engines at different points in the mission. The crew cabin sits low to the surface, enabling a short climb for astronauts entering, exiting, or transporting tools and samples. The DHLS systems supports both docking with Orion and with Gateway, and will get a fuel top-off before descending to the surface. After the surface expedition, the entire vehicle will return  for crew transfer back to Orion.

The Dynetics Human Landing System is rocket-agnostic, capable of launching on a number of commercial rockets.

Teams led by Blue Origin and Dynetics, runners-up in NASA’s first competition to develop a lander to transport astronauts to the lunar surface, have submitted proposals for a NASA competition to select a second lander.

Notes

• Leidos completes acquisition of Dynetics, 2020-01-31.

Classification

Surface Spacecraft

Category

Commercial Rover

Fields

Moon

Status

Development

First launch

Not announced

Unveiled a prototype rover at the 2023 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Developed with Dynetics and promoted in partnership with U.S. motor racing organization Nascar, the vehicle may outwardly resemble the rovers of the Apollo era but differs substantially in detail and technology. For one, it is powered by a combination of solar and battery systems.

NASA is widely expected to issue its LTV request for proposals in May and Leidos will likely submit its vehicle bid in July. The contract award is scheduled to occur by year-end, with initial lunar operations envisaged in 2028.

Design features of the Leidos vehicle include a top speed of 15 kph (9 mph) and a range “in excess” of 20 km (12 mi.). The vehicle has an advanced thermal management system to cope with the extreme temperature ranges expected during NASA’s Artemis missions targeting the lunar south pole area.

Leidos has already submitted a bid for the Human Landing System Sustaining Lunar Development contract, a key component of NASA’s efforts to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon. Leidos also is working on the Universal Stage Adapter for NASA, an element that would enable the transport of large payloads, including the rover it unveiled.

The Leidos LTV features four large, flexible, wire-mesh wheels with stiff inner frames to prevent overdeflection. Lights are integrated into the front wheel arches, which pivot with the steering to illuminate terrain directly in front of the vehicle as it turns. The large arches are designed to turn with the wheels to prevent excess moondust from being kicked up over the vehicle.

“The vehicle is built around the crew,” Matt Doude, business development lead and space systems program manager for the Dynetics LTV, told Aviation Week at the LTV unveiling on April 18. “We started with a model of male and female suited crewmembers and designed around them to maximize effectiveness and time on task while on the surface.”

Doude said the company expects to “spend the next 12 months or so getting to the preliminary design review, and we’ll have a vehicle operational when the Artemis 5 crew arrives on the surface, which is notionally 2027-28.” He added that studies of various launch and landing system options are underway. “We’re in discussions with a number of lander providers and we like to remain lander-agnostic—we can deliver the vehicle with a number of options,” he said.

NASA Invests in Artemis Studies to Support Long-Term Lunar Exploration, 2025-01-23.

• NASA awarded new study contracts Thursday to help support life and work on the lunar surface.
• The Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships Appendix R contracts will advance learning in managing everyday challenges in the lunar environment identified in the agency’s Moon to Mars architecture. 
• The selected proposals have a combined value of $24 million, spread across multiple companies, and propose innovative strategies and concepts for logistics and mobility solutions including advanced robotics and autonomous capabilities.
• Leidos, Reston, Virginia – logistical carriers; logistics transfer; staging, storage, and tracking; trash management; and integrated strategies.

Status Comment

News not found since 2023 unveiling.

Created: 2023-07-17

Updated: 2025-09-06

[1] https://www.leidos.com/insights/dynetics

[2] https://www.dynetics.com/space-solutions/

[3] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-selects-blue-origin-dynetics-spacex-for-artemis-human-landers