Hello dev team and Kerbalers!
I feel like probes and satellites in KSP1 are quite not worth the investment, it is always better to build a manned rocket to go to a planet to gather science, rather to send a probe to that body.
I think it needs to be looked at and reworked, rather for science probes to be limited in science transmission, it would be much better to implement a system, where you first need to scan the planet or it's surrounding area first, to know what to get, so first you would send a probe and that will allow you to pick more science, whenever you send a manned mission. But to avoid situations where you send a manned vehicle with probing-grade stuff, I would make those probes parts really not worth the investment in a situation, where you want to send a manned mission (like, the cost or some limitations like that - like an option to calibrate manned mission equipment for that particular planet, so the price spikes up with manned missions a lot (similar cost with manned and unmanned so combining those two are basically a waste of money).
This way the player is encouraged to do things like in the real world. It's obvious we scan planets or objects of interest first, transmit the findings, where we build upon a manned mission to that object, based on the data we have got from those probes.
Other than that, the entire idea of space telescopes would be neat! Like, to find a planet, first you need to build either a ground telescope or a space-based one, to find it, analyze it and then probe mission to map it to see what to expect, then and only then, a manned mission is the next logical step.
So to summarize:
Mission cost where probe equipment is paired with manned mission is ridiculously high
To get full science, you need to analyze the planet/object
Manned science equipment needs to be calibrated for full science return
The only way to get calibration data is by analyzing the data coming from the probe
Implementation of telescopes to find new bodies
