Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Re: The most dangerous phase will be approach to landing and impact

Having had some direct experience with parachutes...

the horizontal component of the velocity vector would likely be the same as the windspeed. Parachutes have a tendency to drift with the wind. Should the landers arrive when the winds are very strong, odds are the kinetic energy at impact would be higher than the airbags could withstand.

As for soft landers, like every other aerospace vehicle, they have their limits on how strong a wind they can handle. If the drag on the lander is higher than the guidance system can handle, the lander will be moving too fast across the surface for a safe landing. Depending on the vehicle configuration, thruster offpulsing (MPL technique) or attitude control thrusters might not be able to overcome the wind's force.

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