Assuming, for the sake of discussion, that everything we need to land, including astronauts, could be packaged in multiple units each weighing 1 metric ton or less, would tethering the units together address the scattering problem? (Please be kind if this is a ridiculous question. I'm only a wannabe space geek, not someone who actually knows anything about the subject.)
Last thing you'd want to do. Aside from the...interesting...aerodynamic issues there's also the possibility of failure. Say there's a 2% chance of the landing system failing to work. For a single lander, that's acceptable risk. Now say you wanted to land 25 tons in ton lots. That's a 50% chance at least one of them won't make it. Tether them together and that's a 50% chance *all* of them won't make it.
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