In the June 2023 Issue of Longitude, Forward Defense Nonresident Senior Fellow Marco Tantardini published an article on the complexity of recovering manned spacecraft from orbit and landing them on other bodies in the solar system.
Further than the Moon is Mars, where only the US and China have been capable of diving into the thin and tricky atmosphere and landing a robotic spacecraft without crashing.

Forward Defense leads the Atlantic Council’s US and global defense programming, developing actionable recommendations for the United States and its allies and partners to compete, innovate, and navigate the rapidly evolving character of warfare. Through its work on US defense policy and force design, the military applications of advanced technology, space security, strategic deterrence, and defense industrial revitalization, it informs the strategies, policies, and capabilities that the United States will need to deter, and, if necessary, prevail in major-power conflict.