What is unique about this landing is the way that this landing took place. In the past landers have used airbags to cushion the force of the landing. This time NASA used what they call a 'skycrane.' (Not forgetting a painful past where a young man is sent to the hardware store to look for a skyhook...) But unlike the skyhook, the skycrane actually exists.
So now we have the technology to precision land any piece of kit we like on Mars, including vehicles, components for a Base, a power plant! The imagination is limitless...
