Re: They're looking at this now?
From what I read ESA had done work on parachutes etc and as had a project to send a Mars orbiter follwoed 2 pr 3 years later by a lander they decided the incremental cost of adding a lander to the first mission to test the landing mechanisms was a good idea ... and as it turned out it showed there were some issues and you would hope the experience of this would give a much better chance of a corect landing on what wa alwyas the real lander project
Biting the hand that feeds IT
