The best pictures you've seen.

[Alwin Roth]

Well, I know who's getting rep...

[n00b1n8R]

Stop combo breaking :P

I've got higher res of 1st 2 he posted if anybody wants them btw.

[Rob Oplawar]

One of the worst and most spectacular landing systems conceived. I can't believe it worked. It's like watching a stuntman do an idiotically dangerous stunt and succeed- you're in awe, but you can't help but facepalm at him.

e: Seriously! Look at that friggin thing! Now imagine dropping it from a hundred or so feet! >.<

ee:
Of course, the obligatory panorama:

<3

[=sw=warlord]

I have no issues with imagining that falling hundreds of feet and surviving.....

[Rob Oplawar]

Have you ever competed in an egg-drop?
Picture this: You have to launch your egg in a rocket, let it coast for a really long time, then separate from the rocket, then deploy a parachute, then discard its protective casing, then inflate a bunch of airbags, then drop off of the parachute high enough that there's absolutely no chance of being covered by the parachute when it lands, then bounce for several minutes, and then when you've stopped moving, you have to open up and let the egg roll out.

e: landing on Mars is already a jarring enough experience as it is without adding even more things to go wrong. Airbags are cool in the same way base-jumping is cool; it's fucking ballsy and there are much safer ways of getting down. All well and good if you're looking to have a good time, but when your goal is to successfully complete a mission...

Don't get me wrong, I think the whole mission was very cool and I salute the scientists who pulled it off. Still, using airbags was a bad idea from the start.

[ExAm]

I'm going to have to completely disagree with you there. The landing capsule is anything but an egg. There's a pretty damn low risk of damage to the equipment inside, unless those things pop as easily as giant party balloons. Additionally, if you want to second-guess fucking NASA, be my guest. I just don't think your argument will hold up once you've actually talked to them about it.

[Warsaw]

I second-guesed fucking NASA...and decided it was a good idea to fuck it anyways, because they keep wasting money on got damn unmanned projects.

Seriously though, the giant raspberry is probably one of the most hilarious and simultaneously ingenious landing systems ever devised.

[rossmum]

I dropped an egg protected by assorted pads and air sacs from considerable height, and it survived. vOv

[Jean-Luc]

Long-time exposures FTW.

[kid908]

The question is how long!

Those are amazing!