Lunar Landers are brought from Earth to LEO on ELVs. Their purpose is to deliver payloads from LEO to the lunar surface and to return payloads from the lunar surface to LEO or directly to the Earth. Lunar Lander spacecraft receive payloads from Payload Dispenser spacecraft in LEO, receive propellant tank sets from Propellant Dispensers in LEO, and may receive propellant tank sets from Propellant Transporters wherever they require refueling in cislunar space.  Lunar Landers may be refueled by Propellant Transporters in MEO, at L1, and/or in lunar orbit, depending on the size of the payloads they are transporting to the lunar surface.   Lunar Landers have a single hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine, ACS thrusters, a fuel cell power source, computers, an inertial guidance system, and an autonomous rendezvous and docking system.

Using their autonomous rendezvous and docking system, Lunar Landers robotically receive propellant tank sets from either Propellant Dispensers or Propellant Transporters. They also contain mechanisms to autonomously tap into their propellant tanks to create propellant flow to their rocket engine.

A set of retractable landing legs folded back along the structure allows Lunar Lander spacecraft to land on the Moon and take off from the Moon. Lunar Landers are reusable and provide reliable two-way transportation between Earth orbit and the lunar surface.