On 7/08/2012 11:01 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 6/08/2012 2:50 PM, Alan Erskine wrote:
Why didn't they just use bigger parachutes? Use the supersonic 'chute
to slow the vehicle down and then two or more large 'chutes for final
descent.

The ground-level density of the Martian atmosphere is about 1/50 that of
air on Earth. So a parachute (if it could be made no more massive
itself) would have to be 50 times greater in area than an Earth
parachute to achieve the same descent velocity. It's hardly practical.

Also, as others have pointed out, you have to get rid of the parachute
before landing to avoid having the craft end up underneath it.

Sylvia.

Then another method. Instead of the skycrane, why not have a lander
like the two previous rovers, but cover Curiosity with a shelter. Once
on the surface, the shelter could be opened up at the front like an
aircraft hangar (there are deployable shelters that do this) and the
rover just drives down a ramp.