Aerobreaking could net you some gain. Obviously, this requires a more engineeered vehicle, including possibly an ablative shield. Even at that, however, you'l

Aerobreaking could net you some gain. Obviously, this requires a more engineeered vehicle, including possibly an ablative shield. Even at that, however, you'll be skimming very close to Mars' surface and incurring very high temperatures. Perhaps (and this is a big perhaps) we could engineer lifting body surfaces to increase the time-in-atmosphere and dissipate heat better. This is why I love playing Kerbal Space Program.