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After the first successful orbital mission of Ike in the history of Kerbalkind, data has confirmed that Ike is geologically active! The photo taken by the spacecraft below is among many taken aboard that hint at geological activity on Ike. Following the discovery, the brightest minds of the space agency have theorized that Ike's volcanic activity can be linked to Duna's tidal forces on Ike. The government has been well pleased with the Kerbal Space Agency's findings and has since granted bonus funds for future voyages to Ike. Now, the agency selected Jebediah Kerman to operate a manned rover exploration of Ike to learn more about the red planet's volcanic moon. Hi everyone! DylanSP here! I'm a new member of this forum, as you might be able to tell. When I got KSP2 in June, I was taken aback by the immersive experience. Is the game complete? No. But do I love KSP2? Without a doubt. Before I continue, I'd like to give credit to @Sp1f for inspiring me to start a ground-based circumnavigation mission of my own. You can check out their mission below. As my fictional introduction suggested, during my circumnavigation of Ike, I will be exploring the stratovolcanoes on Ike. Along the way, I hope to find places of interest and maybe even an easter egg! Inevitably though, I will have quite the bug collection along the way. So this is also an opportunity to help the developers find all the bugs and squash them! Anyway, My journey will be documented by days, which I don't mean ig days or irl days since the mission began, but rather irl days of active progress since the mission began. With all that being said, let the journey begin! Day 0 and Day 1 Preparation and the first part of the journey

Campaña Duna-Ike Mod principales utilizados, necesarios: https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/182679-161-restock-revamping-ksps-art/ http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/72679-1 https://spacedock.info/mod/1820/MastodonPatch Regresando a utilizar el Kerbal, y tras reveer todas las modificaciones sufridas por el 1.10 y la versión del ScanSat que utilizo, reinicié la campaña que llevo en modo Ciencia ( por chiquicienta vez... ) Tras la recolección en modo desplazamiento de caracol de todo lo que podía obtener de Kerbin, Muna y Moho, pude rediseñar las naves para comenzar la exploración del sistema Kerbol en su conjunto. En un primer paso, si se puede aprovechar las ventanas de lanzamiento o dar la potencia necesaria a los vectores, ya se han enviado algunas unidades capaz de realizar la topografía de los cuerpos. Nave Mensajero. Contiene dos unidades Horus para realizar la cartografía de un cuerpo celeste. Moho ya está siendo cartografiado, en poco tiempo seguirá Eve y posiblemente su luna Gilly, y por último, Duna e Ike. Horus desplegado en Moho Por una circunstancia fortuita dada las pruebas de una nave superpesada con impulsores nucleares, se ha aprovechado una ventana para enviar una unidad topográfica a Eeloo. Impulsor Nuclear Cosmos transportando una versión del Horus, camino a Eeloo Ahora bien, aprovechando la proximidad de la ventana de lanzamiento a Duna, se diseño y probó un sistema de equipos que pueda operar tanto en Duna como en Moho, con lo cual se cubre un amplio espectro de planetas y satélites a visitar con un mismo equipo. La intención es que el impulsor nuclear que se utiliza sea recuperable, o sea pueda regresar a Kerbin, ser reabastecido en órbita y vuelto a enviar a otro planeta. Lo mismo cuenta con el módulo de descenso y exploración. No serían recuperables los satélites de comunicaciones, el vehículo de exploración, las unidades de marcación, y tal vez una unidad diseñada para recuperar el módulo de exploración ante inconvenientes de acoplamiento o falta de combustible durante las maniobras. Se espera que la unidad de exploración tripulada pueda realizar varios descensos y ascensos tanto en Duna como en Ike. Para ello se construyo el concepto modular Viajero. Este es el concepto modular más completo ya que posee: Impulsores Nucleares ( 2 ) Unidad de Recuperacion Orbital ( 1 ) Rover y Equipo de descenso ( 1 ) Módulo de Satélites de comunicaciones ( 1, con cuatro satélites ) Módulo de Unidades de Descenso para evaluar los sitios a ser visitados ( 1, con ocho unidades ) Lo mínimo a retornar debe ser un Impulsor Nuclear y el Módulo de Exploración y Control. La máxima serían que retornen ambos impulsores, sumado el módulo de Recuperación Orbital. El Módulo de Exploración y Control tripulado, tiene capacidad de realizar minería a fin de reabastecerse de combustible. Por eso resulta necesario conocer de antemano la composición del terreno, y ante la circunstancia que cuando lleguen las misiones tripuladas, todavía no se encuentre realizado el relevamiento cartográfico de las unidades Horus, se decidió utilizar los vehículos Marca. Viajero abandonando la órbita de Kerbin en dirección a Duna. Impulso nuclear a plena potencia. Viajero a la distancia Jeb al comando de Viajero. La tripulación es completada por Bill y Bob. La Nave tiene una capacidad total de cinco tripulantes. A fin de repartir la carga de la exploración, y a modo de respaldo de la misión, se ha enviado otra unidad Viajero, pero de menor número de módulos, no cuenta con los Marcadores de Superficie ni con los Satélites de Comunicación. La tripulación de Viajero Beta está compuesta por Valentina, Sally (Ride) y Hedy (Lammar). Viajero Beta abandonando la órbita de Kerbin. Todavía está acoplado el módulo de reabastecimiento a fin de proveer el máximo posible de combustible para resguardar el del propio diseño. Espero que si no hay cambios significativos en la versión del KSP ni de los mod que estoy utilizando, esta vez pueda subir las imágenes del resultado de la exploración Duna-Ike.

The closer I got, the more the maneuvers were wrong...

I've been playing KSP for a while. I play for a bit then switch to other games and come back months later. But I've been playing since 1.2 and.... today I was watching at my screenshots and saw that there are stories behind them. This is not a mega mission report, but more like a bunch of anecdotes bundled together. None of my ships are particularly awesome, quite the contrary they are just utilitarian. The SpiceMan Space Program One Aaah... the humble beginnings... when science and money is low but stupidity and courage soars. As every space program, the SSPO (SpiceMan Space Program One) started with small rockets and tiny probes. I'm probably struggling with the limited amount of parts one can use at the early stages on the rocket in this picture. A Minmus probe preparing to land. The Mun Base Eventually... funds for a Mun Station were secured. And that was the first real challenge the SSPO faced. The plan was simple. Just drop there anything that the Kerbin Cold War dictated was needed to win the space race. However, on a kerballed (manned) mission to the Mun something unexpected happened. A giant rock arch was spotted while landing near one of the greater craters. Evidence of extrakerbinial life was discovered!!! As our intrepid kerbonaut Lemlo Kerman stood on top of the rock arch, two things happened. First, Kerbalkind united and the Cold War ended, and efforts to conquer space were unified. Second, Lemlo Kerman realized he had no propellant on his EVA suit for the way back to the lander... Long and dangerous was the 4.6km walking trip back to the Mun Lander Including a scary episode with the infamous Mun quicksands Lemlo smiles as he gets back to the Mun Lander. We see him smiling in the picture because he hasn't realized yet that the Mun Lander has no ladder and, without propellant in his suit, he's just as stranded as he was in the rock arch. After firing the spaceship designers, the rescue mission was a success. Back at Kerbin, Kerbalkind united efforts and came up with a master plan: drop connectors'n'stuff and ensamble! It started with some living quarters and a short connector for the next module to come. Next was the Lab Module (Heavy stuff!) First two modules connected !!!! Moving some connectors... Second Living module en route. Eventually mining modules, tanks, and more were added. This was the final result: Here we can see a Mun Station crew replacement. Emboldened by the success of the Mun Station Program, the decision-makers started twin parallel space programs: The Eve and The Duna Space Programs It started twin single-kerbal ships, one sent to Eve piloted by Valentina the other sent to Duna piloted by Jeb. Well, almost twin ships... Jeb was given Gigantor solar panels because he needed to compensate. The science data the kerbonauts took back home was not enough, but it was enough to see that the planets were very different. Two separate probe programs were devised. A series of mishaps happened in the Eve Probe Program. First, ground control forgot to take in account the distance and delay in communications... So the solar panels were deployed during the Eve atmosphere entry. After some explosions the probe managed to land thanks to the parachutes, but not on the water as the contract required. Engineers frantically calculated the most efficient use of the remaining electric charge to transmit the science data. But not all data could be sent. Sadly, everyone was fired and the Eve program scrapped. The Duna Program was more successful. First, they landed the Mars Probe I successfully. And then, banking on the Mun Station know-how, the Duna Roadster was sent to explore. On Duna, ancient scripts of an unknown civilization talked about the mythical gold empire of El Ikerado. Linguist, historians, mythologists and satellite imagery experts tried to no avail to convince managers that no such gold existed, but they were having none of that. An ambitious plan to get rich AF was set in motion. The first step was to set an outpost, and so the Ike Space Station was planned. The Ike Space Station After the astounding success of the Eve Program, the kerbals were rehired and put in charge of the Ike Space Station Program. Since everybody just cared about the gold, people forgot to take pictures. So there's no record of the planning stages. Almost everything we have are pictures of the Ike Space Station in recent times. We do have a picture of the first module to arrive, though: The final Ike Space Station Most people cared about the gold, but Bill Kerman -an engineer- cared about science!!! So he convinced upper management to give him a double Ike-Duna mission. Two landers were sent. One to the Ike Space Station and another to orbit Duna. An engineer is very useful in Duna missions because they can repack parachutes, and the same parachutes can be used for both Duna and Kerbin entry. These are his pictures: Heading to Ike after undocking from the Ike Space Station. Planting a flag on Ike. After refueling at the Ike Space Station, he transferred to Duna. EVA'ing to the Duna Lander II. Bill Kerman looking for the parachute to repack after a successful lithobreak. Bill Kerman celebrating that you can load saves in this game. Sadly, the SpiceMan Space Program One is on halt, as all Kerbals -even kids- are at Ike mining for gold now. Bill Kerman is waiting for the fad to end while at the Duna orbit without fuel.

Despite having owned KSP for two years, and having played 1320 hours of KSP. Before today I had never been to another planet, and the only two missions I've ever done are a Mun mission and Minmus+Mun mission. The main problem is that KSP terrain isn't very interesting, so it never seemed worth the (with hindsight minimal) effort to go to another planet. This changed with KSP version 1.8, not only did they add the terrain shaders, they updated to a newer version of Unity, which runs significantly better on my potato computer. Due to the apparent easiness, I went to Duna with a small Nerva powered ship and started taking screenshots after entering the Duna system. The clouds are from a modified version of Astronomer's Visual Pack, all dependents except scatterer (Which doesn't work anywhere near correctly in 1.8) Oh how very kerbal... There is a dog in a collar and a shirt on this rock. Dust storm. No one told me Ike was shiny! The AVP dust clouds are quite possibly my favorite thing I've ever seen in any KSP image. Some nice pictures of Kerbin that doesn't have anything to do with 1.8 terrain shaders.

Hello, I am Johnster Space Program and today I present to you my new challenge, lowest mass to duna and back! The challenge requires you to go to duna and back (easy enough) but with the lowest mass rocket possible! This is my first time making a challenge like this, so if I should change anything, tell me. Requirements/Rules: - All Participants Must Show Either Photo or Video (YouTube) Evidence (Including VAB Total Vessel Weight) - No Mods Allowed (Except for KER) - Maximum Vessel Weight Is 150 tons - Refueling IS Allowed, As Long As Total Refueler and Other Rocket Mass is 150 tons or less combined - Due to Request, Command Seats Are Now Allowed! - Only VAB and SPH, but you must somehow launch your SPH Vehicle on The Launchpad, Not Runway. Wings Are Allowed - Pods and Chairs Have Separate Winner Categories Now - No Cheating (No Cheat Menu, Infinite Fuel, Etc.) How Scoring Works: - For Every 1 Ton Less Than 150 Tons: +5 points - Getting To Duna and Back: +150 points - Lowest Mass Contender: +25 points - Ike Landing Bonus: +40 points Participants (In Order): @mrhexed @Aeroboi @Mythical Donuts @Kergarin @Johnster_Space_Program @GRS @Martian Emigrant @astrobond @herbal space program @sevenperforce @jinnantonix @A Random Kerbonaut Winners for Command Pods (Highest To Lowest Points): @Kergarin: 5.8 tons: 936 Points @IncongruousGoat: 11.6 tons: 842 Points Winners for Command Seats (Highest To Lowest Points): @astrobond: 3.95 tons: 948 Points @GRS: 26.2 tons: 929 Points For Everyone That Has Successfully Completed The Challenge And Is A Winner, You Will Be Awarded This Badge By Me: Have Fun, And Good Luck!

For The Longest Time , I've Always Thought That Ike Has Been Too Unrealistic , Because The Size And That Its The Only Moon , So I Moved It To Eve , And Moved Bop And Gilly To Orbit Duna . Images: Imgur Download: SpaceDock To Save You Time , I Included All The Needed Files In The Zip File. Installation: Drag All The Inculded Files Into Your GameDataFolder, Of You Already Have Kopernicus Installed , Replace It. That's It!

So I accepted a contract to explore Ike. I built my rocket and loaded it with science experiments. I never revert unless the game glitches out. Anyway, I launch my rocket and when I deployed the fairings once I get into space I noticed the camera would shake like crazy, I go to map mode and I can see my AP and PE but no orbital track and if I rotate my camera the AP and PE were waaaaaay south of Kerbin. I couldn't time warp because it thought my craft was landed. It was weird. So I revert my flight and it happens again. Revert, same problem. Revert, same problem only this time I notice the bottom ring of the fairings was still stuck on my rocket. It was hung up on my landing legs!! Revert again, get above the atmosphere, lower my landing legs, deploy the fairings and everything is good!!! I create a maneuver to get to Duna, then I create another maneuver to get an encounter with Ike. I don't have enough fuel to get into orbit of Ike so I satisfy one requirement of my contract (science date from space around Ike) and my trajectory has me crashing into Duna. I was able to transfer quite a bit of science data as I fell towards Duna. The last date was received by my probe three seconds before slamming into the planet Duna. It didn't quite go as planned but I learned so much from this one mission. I love this game!!

This is the chronicle of my stock Ike Elcana polar circumnavigation attempt. A picture is worth a thousand words so without further due let's begin. (Fellow Cavemen, don't worry this is only a diversion from my caveman attempt in which I am making significant progress) On the launch pad. Lift off! Circularization Duna transfer burn Duna capture burn, LF booster separation. Arrival at Ike Ike landing Landed on Ike, in the dark, on the side of a steep mountain... Flag planting shortly after rover separation. (using the rover's onboard RCS thrusters) All aboard 6.2 uneventful kilometers driven through Ike's central mountain range on the first day.

Today I took a spaceplane and rode it to Duna. in the process of one maneuver, I entered and exited Ike 4 times! I am wondering if this is normal.

Hi guys, So I was wondering, Because I have already went to the mun and minmus once (new career save, don't ask), I was wondering how much DeltaV it is to Ike and back. I've already been to other planets in my other Sandbox save, but never Ike. Also, is an Eve gravity assist a good idea? I have a Duna window in 71d, and an Eve window in 1y 120d. I also have critical contracts lying around, won't they get expired? Regards, Mabdi36

Hi all! The short question: I'd love to hear recommendations on orbital altitudes for a refinery operation that will mine ore on Ike and refine it in Dunan orbit. The longer explanation: For the last week or so I've been playing in Sandbox, working out how to most effectively set up logistical infrastructures all around the stock solar system. I started by setting up a full-coverage Comm relay and ScanSat (the mod) network around every body on the stock game. I've done all this before, of course, but never as methodically and efficiently as I'd like. So far the four inner planets are covered, and various satellite carriers are nearing their destinations at Dres, Jool, and Eeloo. Now I've turned my attention to setting up fuel depots and ISRU operations, and have two flotillas of fuel stations, mining landers, in-system tankers, interplantery tankers, etc. headed to Duna and Dres. All un-Kerballed and drone-controlled, but with enough modularity to be turned into crewed vessels in the future. (Before it's mentioned, I know depots and ISRU aren't necessarily the easiest or most efficient ways to explore the system, but for the purpose of this save game, that's what I'm playing with.) I already have a clear plan for Dres; with an ore miner tailored for landing on the planet and another dedicated to the asteroids surrounding it. They'll bring raw ore to an orbital refinery/tankage station. The reason for this post: I'm not sure exactly what I want to do at Duna. The mining lander is large (by my standards) and can bring 10,000 units of ore from Ike to anywhere in the Dunan system. The depot will refuel Kerballed missions to Duna, and a few re-usable Duna Lander/Ascent vehicles that will remain in-system for surface explorations. It may also be used to send re-fueling tankers further afield, particularly to Jool, though a full Kerballed expedition to that system is still only a drawing-board notion. SO... any suggestions, tips, or other observations? Specifically, will I be better served to keep the main Fuel Depot/Refinery station in orbit around Ike, or should it orbit Duna? If the latter, will a high (near the SOI margin), medium (outside Ike's orbit), or low (inside Ike's orbit) altitude work best for my purposes? Keep in mind the station itself has no propulsion, but is configured so the Mining Lander itself can propel the entire depot (and is in fact doing that right now, toward a Duna intercept in a few hundred days). There are also several fuel carriers around Duna (most of them leftovers from the Comm/Scan satellite missions) that can move fuel from the depot to vessels that need it. I'm asking not just in terms of absolute efficiency (as in launch costs and fuel consumption) but also in terms of my convenience and "playability" (i.e. avoiding days-long warping to rendezvous various vessels from high orbits), and finding a satisfying balance between the two. I hope I've laid out enough to explain what I'm looking for in terms of feedback, without droning (no pun intended) on too long. Note: I'm playing with a smattering of mods, but mainly for aesthetics. All my craft are (virtually) analogous to stock vessels, so a full mod list doesn't seem necessary. Beyond that I rely heavily on KER and KAC to design and keep track of all the (40? 50?) missions ongoing right now. Your thoughts appreciated.

I was sening a rover to Duna and i saw this so i tought it would be good to show it Tell me what you think about them

Ike is a relatively large moon of Duna. But what does such object does around Duna. Today we will figure it out! One of hypothesis is that Ike was formed with Duna because it’s orbit is stable and low. It is made of silicates and some kind of dark material. Perhaps there is not so much craters like on Minmus. So what kind of material is Ike made of? Honestly I don’t have any clue…. But lets imagine that it is some kind of flexible material that can make craters smooth. But how does this kind of material form? And where did it come from? But what if Ike was formed by a collision. A lot of material just flew away due to Duna’s low gravity. And some that stay formed a low-density object. But the orbit is so stable and almost equatorial. How? Maybe because of odd angle of the collision. (for a collision angle equator is an oddity) But what if Ike had really low density. And some of the material just escaped and then fall on Duna leaving nothing but what we have now…. The other and last hypothesis of mine is that Ike is a trail of volcanism that had strong appearance on Duna. But as how can we see, now Duna is geologically dead planet…. I hope you will appreciate my attempt to be interesting! I will be very happy if you will help me find a better hypothesis!

Why? Enchanted by tales of "reactionless propulsion", the folks at KSC have invented the momentum tether, an enormous device designed to spin and fling kerbals from one orbit to another. I'm certain it will be a safe and pleasant way to travel. Rules Create a device to spin+fling Kerbals from a low circular orbit around Ike (13km or as close as is convenient). Spin it up and fling your plucky astronaut to their destination! If you miss but are close, use a maneuver node to figure out how many delta V you were away from your trajectory. If you're within 10% of the listed deltaV for the trip, it's close enough! Kerbals have EVA packs, after all... Additional Rules 0. Have another trip in mind? Fling it and I'll add it to the list! 1. Informational mods are ok, as well as any mods which won't effect this challenge. FAR is a-ok! 2. You can use cheats and hyperedit to get into low Ike orbit, but they're off limits for spinning up and flinging. 3. You can use rockets to spin your reactionless-propulsion tether. I like irony as much as the next fellow... 4. Rampant saving and reloading is expected! 5. Screen shots or videos are enjoyed but not required. Kudos you can earn for your spot on the leader board : D Stuck the landing >:) Bounced Kerbal off a surface at greater than 20m/s (physwarp helps) (>'.')> Hauled it out to Ike, legit. Destinations (from Ike) Duna reentry (130m/s) Interplanetary resonant orbit for gravity assist (~250m/s resonance pending) Vertical landing on Ike (340m/s). If your apoapsis is under 15km, use EVA propellant to arrest your vertical motion, set your navball to surface and have less than 34m/s horizontal surface speed. Kerbin Reentry (500m/s) Dres Flyby (~800m/s, but changes with the year) Kerbol Escape (~2750m/s) added by @TheGuyNamedAlan Have another trip in mind? Tell me the starting orbit and destination, and I'll add it to the list! Silly Introductory Video Leader Board LKO to Mun @Baricus chose to go to the moon and do the other things not because they were easy, but because they were Kerbal! An epic fling and gravity assist sent Alan Kerman careening halfway to Moho. LKO to Resonant Kerbin Orbit @Baricus lined up a fling-to and return-from interstellar space. The krakens were so bewildered and astonished, they apparently decided to KO Baricus' computer. LIO to Duna >:) @DoctorDavinci created the mythical staged tether to let Valentina headbutt Duna at a harrowing 180m/s. Both Valentina and Duna survived the encounter. : D @DoctorDavinci followed the hallowed KSP tradition of MOAR by using a 3-stage tether to fling Jeb to a soft landing on Duna. LIO to Resonant Duna Orbit LIO to Ike : D (>'.')> @LaytheDragon with a heavy-duty mk3 tether landed the relieved Navy Kerman gently on Ike. : D @Drone_Kerbal rocked it oldschool in v1.05, tossing Leaberta Kerman gently down to Ike. The same system should also be able to get her back to Kerbin! LIO to Kerbin LIO to Dres LKO to Kerbin (>'.')> @LaytheDragon spun 'till the tether exploded, flinging two kerbals safely back home. @DoctorDavinci left an entire ring system around Kerbin with 4 stages of tether flinging Jeb to greater and greater heights. Reentry turned out to be a bit of a doozie, though. Badge!

After every KSP update, I start a new career mode game. Currently I've built and flown my Duna Explorer mission. The ship below was built and launched to orbit over 3+ launches. Not shown is the unmanned refueling vessel and the crew transport vessel. This trip took 7 Kerbals to Duna. Left 3 in the science lab in orbit around Duna for science! Landed on Ike as well. And returned to Kerbin orbit, ready to refuel and go on the next mission. Wondering if I could take this to Jool.

I have a base on Ike, but I can't use RCS to fly? It's as if Ike has the same gravity as Kerbin? Anyone else experience this?

Hi I have been playing KSP for a while now, but never gone further than the Mun or Minmus. This is version 1.05 Moderate difficulty career mode. I had a short break from KSP before attempting this..... I think I was a bit rusty! Please feel free to comment on the Kerbaling as well as the Lets play style! Thanks for watching!

So I was on Ike, and my lander can started to spin and spin and I decided to record it. I thought wat if I EVA and this happened, i could escape Ike, put me on a sub-orbital trajectory of Duna, and land on duna alive, only using the EVA suit. Check it out (it's a comedy video also): <Removed by moderation team> Tell me what do you think!

Hi there... Who can build a manned lander that will go to Ike, orbit Ike, land on Ike, plant flag and take surface sample, return and land safely on Kerbin! Rules at launch: - 40 parts or less total. - 12 meter max height. - 31 ton max weight. Would be fun to see your designs!

My highest aim is to a collection of lessons and anecdotes learned the hard way from exploring beyond the Mun. There's some humor along the way- I hope it's appreciated. By now in my first career I've planted some flags, made some gravity turns, even scribbled some maths, but nothing could prepare me for the long journy of the Ike-razy.. In hindsight, it's over-engineered. I've been holding onto this idea of a re-usable lander for a while now. First I built a 10-ton Mk2 lander before I had the full-size docking port unlocked...First words of advice: Clamp-o-Tron Jr. is not a good option here unless you like maneuvering with a jelly noodle. So anyway I'm headed to Ike with this new 4-ton lander and a good crew now that I have me some humility, and here's the thing about my new clever lander: Make sure your CoM is spot on when something's riding the nose of your rocket! I thought it was good enough...but it was only good enough to keep me drifting southward throughout my ascent...needless to say landing was a bundle of joy as well. So Jeb is stranded in LKO at the moment and before I realized I was going on a three year trip, I figured he'd be fine. So I took Val, a scientist, and an engineer...or so I thought. Kerbals are tricksy creatures, always double check your crew manifest in between VAB edits. I'm not saying they pulled a switcheroo on me...but I'm not saying they didn't either. The end result was I took Val and two engineers to Ike and back, so much for that science grab... I'll gloss over the nitty gritty, there's lots of tutorials for that...I hit my window, escaped Kerbin, I even made a sweet aerocapture around Duna that helped me return to Kerbin with 1000 dV (almost 3x my planned margin!) So here I am in orbit of Ike...minus 1 RCS block and my lander's solar array...WOOPS! Yeaaaaa...when you're planning an aerocapture, don't skimp on retractable solar panels!!! Or just don't extend them? I dunno...there's a lot of details here. Now, the real mistakes come out...Probably don't cut corners on RCS when you're planning some interplanetary docking business either. I may have decided I didn't need RCS on my lander to dock it which, strictly speaking, you don't. But, especially when you DO put monoprop on it...just add the thrusters. Your one pilot will thank you when they don't have to EVA several times to get the un-stabilized crafts situated before docking. So I docked this sucker with an empty lander floating through space and an asymmetric RCS arrangment. I'm almost done, promise. Here I am on Ike, and then I have one thought to share about return. Pretty snazzy low-tech lander right? Yea...it's gone now. To my friends comtemplating interplanetary adventures for the first time: Returning an object to a Kerbin orbit that you actually WANT it to be in from a Hohmann transfer without aerobraking...is hard. Even with the 1000dV I returned to the Kerbin SOI with, There was NO WAY I was putting that glass house into a reasonable orbit...I jettisoned it and let 'er burn!! So, tl;dr, I like to learn things the hard way, and bite off more than I can chew. Learn from it, laugh at it. I thought I'd contribute something to the forum, it's been a huge help to my space program! To anyone good reading for laffs, I'd love build and maneuvering advice!