Yes indeed. Mars entry, descent, and landing (EDL) is hard. On Earth it’s easy: we can use the thick atmosphere to decelerate to a gentle drop into the ocean. O

Yes indeed. Mars entry, descent, and landing (EDL) is hard. On Earth it’s easy: we can use the thick atmosphere to decelerate to a gentle drop into the ocean. On the Moon it’s easy: the minimal gravity makes powered descent feasible. On Mars it’s hard: too much gravity for an easy powered descent, too little atmosphere for an easy aerobraked descent. Larger spacecraft such as Curiosity and Perseverance (sky crane) and Spirit and Opportunity (bouncing air bags) have to get creative.