Question: Is there ANY reason the smaller "lifeboat" ship (think they call it the Narcissus) Ripley evacuates into at the end, couldn't have been used as a lander to travel down to the planet in the beginning too (simply leave the Nostromo in orbit, with or without skeleton crew)? It seems, actually is, much less likely to be damaged in the initial landing, and, for that matter, much easier to take off afterwards (being much less massive). It also would have provided one more layer of quarantine containment for the people who stayed in the lander (who may or not be all the other four, in fact one would probably be just fine (Ripley manages the Narcissus just fine at the end), and it would have been a lot faster for the singleton to simply put on their own spacesuit if/when trouble is encountered, and in so doing, preserve their own personal uncontaminated space). The three explorers and the lander guard could simply see to trouble in Narcissus' sickbay-laboratory, without tainting the three back in the mothership, give Kane first response while taking him up to the main lab on the ship, while giving the orbit people warning to put on their suits/have some form of mobile quarantine ready for him.
dizzyd
5th May 2017
Alien (1979)
Chosen answer: The small "lifeboat" ship was not equipped for the entire crew's long-term survival. As they are in deep space, there is no where close for them to land. They would just be adrift in space, as it takes years to travel from one destination to another. To survive long voyages, the crew needs to be in hibernation. The small ship would be a last resort in the hope that any survivors would be found before they died of starvation and/or lack of oxygen.
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Answer: It's not apparent whether the shuttle is capable of landing at all, much less launch itself back into space afterward even if it could.
TonyPH