what is difference between a lander and rover
Report Abuse. The lander is the part of the craft that breaks orbit to actually land on the body in question. It is designed to land under controlled conditions, and does not move once there. Rover is a mechanized transport for use on the surface. It sometimes transports humans, and sometimes it transports remotely controlled scientific equipment. This depends on the mission in question. For the Apollo missions, the orbiter, lander and rover were manned craft.