NASA's rationale for using the Sky Crane with Curiosity has always been that it had no good alternatives. The technologies used to land other probes on Mars hit their limits with something the size and weight of the Curiosity rover. read more
How Curiosity Will Land on Mars, Part 3: Skycrane and Landing. When we left our hero, Curiosity had traveled hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth toward Mars, and had fewer than 20 meters left to go. She will be descending at 0.75 meters per second toward the surface. Fewer than 15 seconds remain in her trip. read more
The intricate series of maneuvers to land NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on the Red Planet Sunday, Aug. 5, looks reasonable when you consider the alternatives. The intricate series of maneuvers to land NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on the Red Planet Sunday, Aug. 5, looks reasonable when you consider the alternatives. read more