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Það er áhættusamt að lenda á loftsteininum en geimfarinn ætlar engu að síður að reyna.

Það er áhættusamt að lenda á loftsteininum en geimfarinn ætlar engu að síður að reyna.
It is risky to land on the asteroid but the astronaut intends to try nevertheless.
From Lesson 339:Concessive connectives (engu að síður)·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Það er áhættusamt að lenda á loftsteininum en geimfarinn ætlar engu að síður að reyna.

What is the literal translation of the connective engu að síður?
It literally translates to "by nothing less." Engu is the dative neuter form of enginn (nothing), followed by að and the comparative adverb síður (less). Together they form the set phrase for "nevertheless."
Could engu að síður be placed at the very end of the sentence?
It sounds much more natural where it is. As an adverbial connective, engu að síður usually sits immediately after the conjugated verb (ætlar) rather than being tacked onto the very end of the clause after the infinitive (að reyna).
Why does á loftsteininum use the dative case here when landing is a movement?
While prepositions like á often take the accusative for movement towards a place, the verb að lenda (to land) is a common exception. It focuses on the resulting position or state of ending up somewhere, so it triggers the dative case for the location.
Why isn't there a direct object after að reyna like "að reyna það" (to try it)?
When the action being attempted is already established in the context, Icelandic frequently leaves the verb að reyna without an object. Adding það isn't grammatically wrong, but omitting it is more natural and concise.

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