[Neidermeyer]

It’s not just that ,, I don’t know what fuel this SpaceX rocket uses but it’s likely much more energy dense than the Saturn ,, Von Braun used cheap available fuels , alcohol and lox (V2),, kerosene and lox (Saturn)

[mvpel]

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket uses LOX and RP-1 (refined kerosene). They're working on a methane-fueled engine as well, since you can make methane on Mars via CO2 and hydrogen.

This is not actually the first such landing test - it's only the first test with the flight-design landing legs. They did pathfinding work starting in September 2012 with a vehicle they dubbed "Grasshopper."

SpaceX Advanced Testing Playlist

The multi-angle 24-story hover test one is pretty cool.