Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

lander

American  
[lan-der] / ˈlæn dər /

noun

  1. a space probe designed to land on a planet or other solid celestial body.


lander British  
/ ˈlændə /

noun

  1. a spacecraft designed to land on a planet or other body Compare orbiter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lander

First recorded in 1960–65; land + -er 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX defended its progress developing a Moon lander in a blog post Thursday, following NASA’s decision to reopen the program to other companies.

From Los Angeles Times

Upcoming missions using taller lander designs, including the Starship Human Landing System, may be more susceptible to ground acceleration caused by moonquakes close to an active fault.

From Science Daily

The company’s uncrewed lander, nicknamed Athena, successfully reached the moon, but fell on its side and was unable to recharge.

From MarketWatch

SpaceX shared proposals to pull that off and has said its lander remains the fastest method to complete the task.

From The Wall Street Journal

Both Blue Origin and SpaceX have submitted bids to build the lunar lander that will return astronauts to the moon, a project that was initially awarded to SpaceX.

From MarketWatch