Duna Landing

The first step was circularizing Duna Express' orbit aroud Duna, so mission planners could pick any landing site at liberty.

One of the larger depressions was chosen as the target, since the surface is usually remarkably flat in low-terrain areas. After performing the deorbit burn, the spacecraft was on a entry trajectory.

The interplanetary booster separated from the Duna Express spacecraft, after a journey of millions of kilometers.

After retracting its solar panels and deploying the landing legs, the spacecraft fell through the thin atmosphere. As the aerobraking maneuver had shown, Duna's atmosphere is too thin above 15 km to provide significant aerodynamic drag.

At 10,000 m altitude, the lander fired its engine to further slow down.

The automated landing was performed flawlessly by the spacecraft's flight computer.

The first robotic explorer to another planet had just landed. Duna's landscape was barren, dominated by the red glow of the atmosphere.

In-situ measurements would allow the development of a more complete model of Duna's atmosphere. Because a manned mission would require a heavier lander, it was crucial to resolve the details of atmospheric braking and, above all, study the requiements of parachute operations on Duna.

And with this, the Duna Express Mission was over, having successfully completed all its objectives. Duna was no longer terra incognita.


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