Rüdiger Klaehn wrote:
But how can you get a descent lunar lander, capable of landing ~10 tons
on the lunar surface, into the 5.2m dimater faring offered by SpaceX
(or Boeing, LM, or the Stick)?

Can this be done without orbital assembley?


Sure. Why not. 5m diameter is plenty if you do not use hydrogen. Two 4m
diameter spheres filled with liquid methane and LOX would contain more
than enough fuel to land and launch quite a large payload on the moon.
You would just have to fill it up at a propellant depot in low earth
orbit.


You also have the Transhab concept, which would also allow for the
volume contraints for the manned portion.

For that matter, I think you might also be able to manage a similar
form of inflatable tankage. There is no rule that the tankage has to
be metallic. There are several bladder systems that would work fairly
well.