Discussion for article #224472
Since the twin Viking spacecraft landed on the red planet in 1976, NASA has relied on a parachute to slow landers and rovers.
um… not the last time, they didn’t.
How soon we forget the skycrane.
If by “successfully”, you mean “lands on the correct planet”, then yes.
If you mean at a speed that wouldn’t kill every living thing onboard, then no, not so much.
The Curiosity rover used a parachute to slow descent after entry into the Martian atmosphere.
Rockets and the sky crane were used together for the landing, because a parachute would not be able to slow the Rover enough in Mars’ thin atmosphere.
1 Like