If you ask me, they gave up far too easily.
Did they try repeatedly extending and retracting the landing struts and blasting the RCS to try to upright it?
What about using the reaction wheels to roll it downhill and popping the struts right before the bottom to launch it back up and using RCS to ease it down? 1 times out of 10 in KSP, that works for me. That’s why my later builds always tack on the robotic science arm to the base and use it to nudge it back up.
They should really hire KSP players to do these missions. We might put a ladder over the hatch or forget landing legs, but at least we know how to fix this issue!
https://github.com/mockingbirdnest/Principia
https://github.com/dkavolis/Ferram-Aerospace-Research
https://github.com/KSP-RO/RealismOverhaul/releases
Hardcore KSP players run KSP Realism Overhaul + Principia + FAR/FARC
Takes off the training wheels and makes things much more realistic.
Real solar system, scales and values no longer on easy mode, much more complex and accurate physics calculations for orbital manuevers, much more realistic aerodynamics model.
If you can get an ‘Oberth Kuiper’ manuever to work in all that, a NASA employee might actually take at least momentary notice.
I would be shocked if the vast majority of them don’t already play KSP.
I would say there’s a good possibility of that!
EVERY. LUNAR. LANDER. SHOULD. HAVE. LIFE ALERT.
