Thanks to the tip-off from netizen Buyao Ya, and at the behest of pertinent organizations, SpaceX has recently introduced a revamped, more streamlined design for its lunar lander. This move is geared towards expediting the crewed moon landing endeavor. The prior blueprint, which was built around the 'Starship' system, failed to secure approval. Moreover, the lagging research and development timeline heightened the mission's risk profile. The updated lunar lander has been refined using the 'Starship' platform as its foundation. Non-essential gear has been eliminated, and disposable fuel tanks have been incorporated to cut down on mass, all without striving for the utmost payload capacity. Regarding the functional arrangement, a brand-new airlock module and a lifting mechanism have been integrated, thereby diminishing the number of in-orbit refueling launches required. As for the orbital strategy, the near-rectilinear halo orbit docking approach has been discarded. Instead, direct docking in the Earth-Moon orbit has been embraced to safeguard the crew's well-being.
