It needs to know how high it is above the terrain so that it knows when to throttle back and when to shut off its motors. So, it needs a radar altimeter of its own - which means extra weight. Also, what would it do after it soft landed? You need to have a very good reason to make something a softlander.

2 weeks of engineering checks before it moves off I think.

I suppose that equipment could be on the rover?

How smart is the guidance on Curiosity rover? When they can direct it towards a point of interest, does it navigate around obstacles automatically and find a route for itself, or does it just move forwards until it encounters something and then sit and wait for instruction?

I am pretty sure it can work its way around things - as could Spirit and Opportunity. Direct remote control is impractical because of the time lag in the signals. By the time the rover had received instruction to avoid a hole or crevasse, it would have driven into it. And if it spotted a hazard and waited for an instruction to drive around it, it would spend far too long sitting around waiting to be told simple instructions such as "steer left by X degrees", or "continue for 4 feet - then steer to the right by Y degrees".

Because Mars doesn't have a magnetic field of note, nor does it have a GPS system in place, Curiosity navigates using an Inertial Guidance System - much like Apollo and long range airliners and early Cruise Missiles.

If it thinks it's lost, in can radio a "lost" message home and then the operators on the ground can try and work out where it is by reference to known geological features in its vicinity. I am pretty sure they will be using these techniques over the next few days to establish a precise location for where it has landed - and providing them with an accurate set of Longitude and Latitude co-ordinates for the INS.

I just don't think there is any practical reason for being gentle with the crane. As you so eloquently put it - the main concern was to ensure it "buggered off" when its job was done.

Maybe in the future, IF they are landing a rover AND they use the crane technique, they could turn the crane itself into a kind of fixed lander/ground station and come up with a way of making sure it lands softly but out of the way of the rover.

It's not a Big Trak. I've busted my nuts for the last 12 years to ensure the guidance system is the best it can be. It's very complex, and hopefully robust (we expect a MTBF of c 20 years).

MTBF?

Please don't use in-house jargon.

It's great that someone involved in the mission is posting on here. But using tecchie jargon is a bit unfair on those who are keen to find out stuff but are not party to the lingo you guys use amongst yourself.

Indeed, it can be seen as being a bit rude.

MTBF - thats an easy one Eric: Mean Time Between Failures

You have? Can I ask what's been your involvement? (This could become interesting )