NASA did rocket landings on another planet with 1970s technology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_program#Entry,_Descent_and_Landing_(EDL) https://en.wikip

NASA did rocket landings on another planet with 1970s technology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_program#Entry,_Descent_and_Landing_(EDL) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_program#Entry,_Descent_... >At an altitude of about 1.5 kilometers (5,000 feet), the lander activated its three retro-engines and was released from the parachute. The lander then immediately used retrorockets to slow and control its descent, with a soft landing on the surface of Mars.