[huhtenberg]

> Soyuz uses rockets to slow its decent

That's how they land tanks. Parachutes first, and then one second before the impact boosters go off and slow the cargo down for a soft touchdown.

[planetguy]

What a Soyuz landing looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4XVhoezrzM

If you believe SpaceX's concept videos they're gonna do it without parachutes. I have no idea why, though. Parachutes are good. Perhaps they're just thinking ahead, because they want an all-purpose capsule that can land on the Moon just as well as the Earth.

[pyre]

Think Mars instead of Moon. Musk has stated that he wants to take this all the way to Mars.

[ricardobeat]

That didn't look like a "soft touchdown" at all!