I think the plasma forms a complete enclosure, i.e. there is no "break" in its surface at the tail of the spacecraft. The pole will need to cross the surface of

I think the plasma forms a complete enclosure, i.e. there is no "break" in its surface at the tail of the spacecraft. The pole will need to cross the surface of the plasma shield meaning an exposure to very high temperatures. OTOH the pole can be insulated the same way the front of the craft is. It looks doable in principle, so I wonder what other problems are there. Could it be that extending the pole during the descent makes the design of the hull more complex and through that more fragile?