The L2-Farside Mission, a mission to the moon's far side depicted here, is being championed by builder of the Orion spacecraft, Lockheed Martin Space Systems. It is seen as an intermediate step toward more challenging missions beyond low Earth orbit. Shown here is how an astronaut crew would teleoperate robots on the lunar surface.
CREDIT: Lockheed Martin

While NASA has officially given up its plans to send humans back to the surface of the moon anytime soon, a contractor is proposing a mission to send a crew to a stationary spot in orbit over the far side of Earth's neighbor.

Lockheed Martin has begun pitching an L2-Farside Mission using its Orion spacecraft under development. [Illustration of the L-2 Farside Mission]

The company says such an endeavor could sharpen skills and technologies needed for a trip to an asteroid ? as well as showcase techniques useful for exploring Mars by teleoperation as astronauts orbit the red planet. Both are stated goals under the new direction for NASA outlined by President Obama.