Is it possible to drop a pod with a man in it from space and the man still be alive when he hits earth?

Answer 1

Sure,

The early space ships were little more than a pod dropped from space.
The bottom of the capsule had a heat shield for reentry, and it deployed parachutes during the descent.

Ok, if you choose not to add a parachute. Then the maximum G-Force a human body can withstand is somewhere around 50-100G's. So, if you can design your capsule so that the occupant is decelerated somewhere around 50G's or less, then it should be survivable.

When you fall... you would reach a "terminal velocity"... actually, since this is deceleration from the fall from space, the atmosphere would likely decelerate the vehicle on the descent. For a skydiver, the terminal velocity is approximately 125 MPH, or about 56 m/second. So, one would anticipate a capsule to have a similar terminal velocity. So, if you could extend the deceleration to a second, or a few seconds, or perhaps even a small fraction of a second, then a chute-less fall would be perfectly survivable. Automobiles use a crumple zone to increase the deceleration period. The easiest place to do the landing might be a deep section of the ocean with some maneuvering to initially slow the capsule, then start slicing into the ocean at the last moment.