4 ms·

You don't have to crash/land the entire probe, you could land a lightweight sensor that was carried by the probe and which requires little fuel to decelerate.

• umeshunni 11y ago
  The sensor will need to send data back, so it can't be too light weight.
  • kijin 11y ago
    The signal only needs to reach the mothership, not Earth. Example: Philae communicated with Earth via Rosetta.
    • murbard2 11y ago
      Yes but Rosetta orbited the comet, whereas in this case the probe would just zoom past the planet