I don't know about most of your points, but the components being crushed under their own weight doesn't seem right. The probe was built in Earth gravity and had

I don't know about most of your points, but the components being crushed under their own weight doesn't seem right. The probe was built in Earth gravity and had to undergo 4-5G of acceleration during launch. Also, it's going to experience 13G of deceleration when entering the Martian atmosphere.