If Schiaparelli did stick its landing, the maneuver would mark the first fully successful Mars touchdown by Europe or Russia — by any entity other than NASA, as a matter of fact.
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I’d say the US is still the only one. The surface of Mars is a tough destination.
It is tough to land on Mars. The Moon really isn’t much of a problem, but the problem with Mars is that commands take longer to reach the vehicle for one thing and of course just trying to land on a planet with an atmosphere is also difficult. Granted...Mars’ atmosphere is thin, but it is still there. Heat shields are required if I remember.
And so far, NASA is the only entity that has successfully landed rovers on Mars.
http://tinyurl.com/hq93tkj
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