lander

Everyday

1. A lander is a spacecraft built to land on the surface of a planet, moon, comet or asteroid. tree →
2. (rare) A lander is someone who lands, or a person from a particular land (as in «Highlander»). tree →

In the lessons

In science and space lessons landers such as the Apollo Lunar Module, Viking on Mars, Philae on a comet and Chandrayaan-3's Vikram on the Moon are compared with orbiters (which circle) and rovers (which drive around). Phrases: «Mars lander», «lunar lander», «the lander touched down».

Examples

• The lander touched down safely on the Moon. tree →
• A lander stays where it lands, but a rover can drive around. tree →
• The Philae lander bounced on the comet. tree →
• The Mars lander measured quakes inside the planet. tree →
• We built a paper lander to protect an egg when dropped. tree →
• The Apollo lunar lander carried two astronauts to the surface. tree →

Note

Countable. From the verb «land». Compare: orbiter (goes around), lander (lands), rover (moves on the surface), probe (any uncrewed spacecraft). In egg-drop maths/science tasks, a good lander slows the fall and spreads the impact.