4 ms·
I think it's because Curiosity was a rover and Insight is only a lander. A lander can have rockets on the bottom that slow its descent, but a rover can't, as th
by JeremyReimer 8y ago
I think it's because Curiosity was a rover and Insight is only a lander. A lander can have rockets on the bottom that slow its descent, but a rover can't, as then the wheels won't work. So the "helicopter drop" puts the rockets on a platform far above the rover (so the exhaust won't damage it) and then it flies away once the rover is on the surface.
- deathanatos 8y agoSpirit/Opportunity were both wheeled rovers, and both landed with something under them; they had ramps that unfolded after landing, and the rover then proceeded to drive off the ramp onto the surface. So I don't think putting things under the wheels is necessarily a non-starter. (But those rovers, IIRC, did a bounce-and-roll-to-a-stop style landing.)
- hrydgard 8y agoThe difference is that those rovers are a small fraction of the size and weight of Curiosity - the latter probably couldn't have survived a bounce-and-roll.
- henrikeh 8y agoCuriosity was too heavy for the airbag-style landing: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory#Entry,_descent_and_landing_(EDL) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory#Entr...