# Spacex Starship landing on the moon: how's that suppose to work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467 "2021-05-19T13:47:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/21 "2021-05-20T01:00:18Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The [most recent render](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Starship_HLS_Moon_landing.jpg) shows tracks. Not that anything is set in stone yet, but that seems to be where they’re leaning. (Pushes up glasses by bridge) Actually, I think that the tracks would be set in stainless steel. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/22 "2021-05-20T01:04:03Z")
Sapce X is big on stainless steel. It doesn’t work so well for me in a room with salt water aquariums, but I guess there isn’t much salt in the vacumn of space or the surface of the moon. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/23 "2021-05-20T01:07:16Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The [most recent render](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Starship_HLS_Moon_landing.jpg) That looks crazy, Buck Rogers stuff. I recall first hand the trouble Neil Armstrong, the best pilot in NASA, had finding a space to land the LEM. “Kicking up some dust”. Will they be able to see the lunar surface from the to[ of this lander? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/24 "2021-05-20T01:10:20Z")
They will drop down one guy ahead of the landing and he will stand there gesturing with his arms and saying “Okay, okay, you got it, liiitle bit further.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/25 "2021-05-20T01:11:18Z")
C’mon back, 'mon back! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/26 "2021-05-20T01:11:54Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > They will drop down one guy ahead of the landing With a jet pack! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/27 "2021-05-20T01:37:56Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Will they be able to see the lunar surface from the to[ of this lander? Why do you think any human will be involved in controlling the landing? Humans aren’t driving the booster landings on Earth now. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/28 "2021-05-20T02:13:43Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > That looks crazy, Buck Rogers stuff. > I recall first hand the trouble Neil Armstrong, the best pilot in NASA, had finding a space to land the LEM. “Kicking up some dust”. Will they be able to see the lunar surface from the to[ of this lander? A big difference today is that the moon has been mapped to about .5 meters precision by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It shouldn’t be hard to find a landing site. As for kicking up dust, despite Starship HLS being huge, it shouldn’t kick up much dust around it, as the landing engines are in a ring roughly 75 feet from the surface and angled outwards. This is necessary because if the landing engines were on the bottom the force of the exhaust would blow Lunar Regolith all across the entire moon, and some might even be blasted into Earth Orbit where it could put satellites at risk if there were a lot of landings. With 28 smaller engines in a ring 75 feet off the ground, the regolith disturbance should be minimal. Also, Starship HLS is supposed to have self-levelling legs in case it lands on a slope or some legs depress into the regolith more than others. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467/29 "2021-05-20T02:52:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I recall first hand the trouble Neil Armstrong, the best pilot in NASA, had finding a space to land the LEM. “Kicking up some dust”. Will they be able to see the lunar surface from the to[ of this lander? The rocket lands using a second set of engines, which are higher up along the outside of the rocket, I think Eta- ninjad of course [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacex-starship-landing-on-the-moon-hows-that-suppose-to-work/942467.md?page=1)