Engine configuration for lander

Space Exploration Asked by Navoneel Karmakar on September 28, 2021

Which is a more stable lander design:

1.Single central engine.

2.Multiple engines located near the corners

Following is the design for Tianwen-1, the Chinese Mars lander:

And following is the design for InSight, the NASA Mars lander:

At the first glance it seems that a single engine design may be a little more unstable than the multi engine counterpart. I am confused about what is taken in to account for the placement of thrusters/engines…

What are the various parameters taken into consideration while designing the engine configuration/number for a lander (moon / Mars, taking atmosphere into account)?

engine design lander landing mars stability

Engine configuration for lander

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