cjameshuff t1_j5ygqwh wrote
Reply to comment by ninthtale in Why do sample return missions such as OSIRIS-REx use their own reentry vehicles instead of just going to the space station for pickup and return with ISS equipment? by PromptCritical725
A landing on an airless Earth, launched from the moon? It would be a bit more efficient than the moon landing, because the spacecraft would be at its heaviest (with a full stack of stages fully loaded with propellant) in low lunar gravity and would be doing its final braking in Earth's heavy gravity after burning most of its propellant and discarding most of its stages, but gravity losses are fairly small in comparison to the overall acceleration/deceleration requirements. You'd need something of similar size, just with fewer first stage engines to get it off the moon.
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