5 ms·

Probably pretty similar to how it feels when soyuz capsules land on land on parachute descent. It's not a new technique.

• mhandley 12y ago
  Well, the Soyuz does depend on retro-rockets to cushion the final impact. If those don't fire, it's not going to be a soft landing. If I recall correctly, that did happen on one of the Soyuz landings, resulting in some broken teeth from the impact.
  • mikeash 12y ago
    It makes for cool videos, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2X2kaqYatI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2X2kaqYatI If you don't know what's going on, it looks like the thing explodes on impact.
    • BrandonMarc 12y ago
      man, you weren't kidding. to the untrained eye, that doesn't look like a successful landing. I wonder if airbags, similar to the mars rovers, would do well to cushion the landing.
      • mikeash 12y ago
        In reading up a bit on NASA's Orion capsule, a parachute landing on ground with air bags to cushion the impact was apparently a serious option for a while, before they decided to go for a water landing instead.