ManEatingApe

Our benevolent overlord seems to say yes... https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/165251-roads-to-duna-no-moar-boosters/&do=findComment&comment=3168196

Nicely done! If I've read the thread correctly then you should be also be able to include Loop The Loop for an even lower score! (of course @sevenperforce will have to confirm)

Every little bit helps, especially on Hard mode! Do you think you could modify the W.Y.D.D.L.D. to incorporate the trick? I haven't forgotten about this challenge and in the background I've been designing and testing a craft for the second mission. A few more...erm, simulations in sandbox and I'll be ready to dare try it on the Hard save file from the first mission.

Couldn't resist having another crack at this with a slightly unorthodox design. Whittled it down to 8 parts, 5.3 tons, 5.5m tall and an affordable 4,944 funds. Careful observers will notice that the Spark is pointed backwards. Valentina had fly the entire mission in reverse! Mission Highlights Full mission album link

I don't see it like that at all! There were four dimensions to optimise; weight, parts, cost and (somewhat unusually) height. You chose weight and I went for parts and cost. Without any objective way to weight these 4 dimensions there's no way to rank the entries, completing the challenge is enough of an achievement itself. I really like that we all went for different approaches given the tight constraints. Gin, a dV calculator and an unwarranted sense of optimism

How low can we go, I wonder? Here's a cheap and cheerful entry, a shade heavier than @sevenperforce's neat craft. Just 10 parts, 6.31 tons, 3.5m tall and a bargain at 6,411 funds. Mission highlights Full mission album link

I had a hunch that it was possible to unlock the elusive "Advanced Rocketry" node in the very first launch. The "Aha!" moment was when I recalled that EVA and Crew reports are per biome in "low space" and "flying low" situations respectively, providing just enough extra science to get us over the line. Amusingly, I also discovered that a Kerbal jumping from Kerbin's surface counts as a "in flight" vessel when recovered, providing a few more bonus science points. Bob bravely rode the ladder all the way to space, with nothing but a Goo canister between him and certain death. There was a complex dance to collect 6 Crew Reports, 7 EVA Reports and 6 Goo experiments, shown in the short video below. The most important unlocked part is the larger FL-T400 fuel tank. This should allow us to go the Mun, Minmus and beyond, within the 30 part limit of the Level 1 VAB. It was a lot of fun flying this ridiculous contraption to space, so if anyone would like to try, the craft file is available here. Now I must plot the 2nd mission...

It's a tricky thing to pull off, nicely done! I always budget way way over the normal dV needed in order to account for correction burns. Then the correction burns to fix the previous "correction" burns.

Thank you very much, I'm honoured!

I've actually spent the last couple of hours racking my brains trying to figure out how to include a Minimus visit in the 2nd mission as well. If only I could only squeeze another few hundred m/s out of the design I feel it's possible. Perhaps some other daring Space Engineer can try...

The crew cabin and Mk1 pod on the left is a craft that got stuck in orbit without fuel. The contraption on the right is the rescue tug. It's job is to de-orbit the whole shebang to a safe speed. Getting them together is like a normal docking maneuver. The only small trick is once you get close enough: Switch to the tourist craft Select the rescue vehicle as target Rotate so that the tourist craft is facing exactly away With a little luck it should "slot" into the girder cage. (this may take a few attempts!) This photo shows the rescue vehicle approaching: Definitely not docked in the official sense! However if you maintain at least a low thrust for the entire descent then the slight acceleration will keep the tourist craft lodged in the girders. Hopefully by the time aero forces pull the 2 craft apart the speed will be low enough to deploy the chutes. An album with more detail is here.

There's always the low tech claw solution...

This is an interesting challenge that required some very careful planning to complete. TL;DR 2 Launches to Mun landing, recovery time Y1, D3, 03:09:30 Firstly I started a fresh career on Hard mode. Then Jeb set off in my tried and tested Caveman opener, a cobbled together contraption of girders and Fleas. This carried 5 Goo canisters to just outside the atmosphere, allowing us to collect plenty of science and satisfy the Launch our First Vessel, Escape the Atmosphere and Science Data from Kerbin contracts. Even on Hard mode there was enough science to unlock the first few crucial nodes. The World First's awards provided enough extra cash to upgrade the Launchpad to Level 2, allowing us to launch vessels up to 140 tons. Jeb then set off in a 2nd, even more deadly contraption. The 30 part limit of the Level 1 VAB forced some...erm, interesting design decisions. Without patched conics we had to estimate the Mun encounter by eye. By the time we landed on the Mun, a combination of the Orbit Kerbin contract and more World First's awards allowed us to upgrade the Astronaut Complex to Level 2, so that Jeb could actually leave the capsule! An unprotected Mk1 capsule is rugged enough to survive re-entry from anywhere in the Kerbin system, so a Mun return didn't trouble it too much. Full mission album here If I could make a small suggestion: A round trip to Minimus is easier than to the Mun, as you only need ~1,600 m/s dV from LKO (compared to 2,700 m/s for a Mun round trip) and the landing is much more forgiving. Sure, without patched conics the rendezvous can be a little tricky but it's not too bad with a little practise. So I'd make Hard mode include both the Mun and Minimus

All done! A final mission fulfilled five closely related contracts finally allowing us to purchase that fancy coffee franchise for the engineers erm...I mean all the remaining building upgrades. As a minor hack the 2nd stage was intentionally placed in front of the 3rd stage so that the spaceplane could be mounted at the back. This allowed its wings to help stability (rather than hinder it, if the spaceplane was mounted conventionally towards the front) The stations shared parts in order to save mass. The spaceplane on its own comprised the Jool "station", while the counterweight had the necessary liquid fuel and extra accommodation for the Laythe station. Valentina gazes across the endless tranquil ocean, trying to remember if she packed a towel. Amusingly a Kerbal counts as a "craft" for contract purposes, so Valentina got paid over half a million funds for a quick dip. There was plenty of room, so Bill and Bob came along for the ride too. Once back at Kerbin the remaining 3 contracts were finished. Look at that shiny fully upgraded Space Center! Full mission album here Craft files from this and previous missions for the curious, each craft chemical powered, fully Kerballed and suitably primitive! 01 - Kerbin Suborbital 02 - Kerbin Orbit 03 - Minimus 04 - Mun 05 - Duna & Ike 06 - Dres & Eeloo 07 - Jool 08 - Moho 09 - Eve & Gilly 10 - Cash Cow @5thHorseman Kudos on creating an thoroughly entertaining challenge, I had lots of fun. Looking forward to watching your final entry!

Please do! I've shamelessly pinched some ideas from Foxster's excellent Eve landers in this challenge thread, especially using the circular intake and small hardpoint to minimise drag. For example 33.2 tons here and an incredible 18.79 tons here (kudos to @Foxster) Mine are a bit bigger to make up for ham-fisted flying skills, but do the trick from most elevations (below 500m you'll have to jetpack the final part into orbit )