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I've read fairly convincing arguments that we don't know how to land on Mars, either. Problems of thin atmosphere, difficulties in aereobraking, etc. http://www
by joeyh 16y ago
I've read fairly convincing arguments that we don't know how to land on Mars, either. Problems of thin atmosphere, difficulties in aereobraking, etc. http://www.universetoday.com/25438/why-cant-we-land-on-mars/ http://www.universetoday.com/25438/why-cant-we-land-on-mars/
Currently the method that's worked best is to bounce down a sturdy probe on giant balloons, and now NASA is trying a quite rube-goldberg lander that hangs below its retrorockets. Still very much in the experimenting phase.
- bfe 16y agoIt's true that using aerobraking alone for an incoming vessel from Earth landing on Mars would be infeasible. Landing with thrust, like we did on the Moon forty years ago, but also using assistance from aerobraking and parachutes, is not an issue.
- ugh 16y agoPhoenix successfully landed and if the Mars Science Laboratory manages to land safely we might get ready to conclude that at least NASA has landing on Mars figured out. It’s not really experimenting, NASA simply has progressively scaled up their landers. It’s hard but they know how to do it.