How does the end-of-mission history for terrestrial planets like Mars generally differ from that of gas giants like Jupiter?
Answer
Giant planets receive controlled atmospheric entries for disposal, whereas rocky planets have seen 'crashes' mostly resulting from mission failures or orbital decay.
Jupiter and Saturn act as destinations for controlled atmospheric entries for disposal, whereas for the rocky planets, the 'crashes' have largely been a combination of mission failures and unintended orbital decay rather than pre-planned, high-velocity strikes on the solid surface.
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