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Add easter egg/monument on dark side of Moho, because it will be (unique) object in unique place, which you will see after passing a bunch of unusual and difficult challenges Firstly, let's remember, why Moho is difficult place for travel. Interception of Moho is difficult part, because it has elliptical and inclined orbit, which is quite challenging for Hohmann transfer trajectory. Also it is the most closest planet to Kerbol, which brings another difficultes for maneuver planning. All this factors make Moho transfer dV amount is the biggest, bigger than for the farthset planet - Eeloo And when you come to the Moho, you can notice one feature, which is important for my headline - Moho is tidally locked with Kerbol. This means that half of planet always is covered by darkness. And the most, if not even all players will fly only to sun side of Moho, and won't see surface of night side, even on map. Very good place to hide something. All prefer travel by day, but to reach this easter egg you must try to land in darkness on undiscovered relief and travel through it by night. So easter egg will become motivation to finally visit dark side of Moho Let me repeat all steps: you have to transfer to planet with the most complicated orbit and you have to land on surface, which you won't be able to see by day never. Candidate on final boss planet, doesn't it? Maybe this easter egg will be important or not, but it will be certainly great achivement after all challenges you overcame UPD!: I realised that Moho isn't tidally locked as it was said in the description. There are 2 variants: Moho's parameters will be corrected to make it tidally locked, or, pessimistically, Moho's description will be changed. But I think, it'll be good to have monument on Moho

Hello, KSP Version 0.1.1.0.21572 Windows 11 Laptop with an i7 1280P and a desktop GTX 1080 Ti as eGPU When orbiting at fairly low altitudes the camera begins to spam messages because it can't decide which setting it should use. It's at potentially not safe altitudes, so I can't really blame it for panicking. Expected Behavior: Decide for one setting camera, you are trained for spaceflight, so behave like that Observed Behavior: See the screenshot below Steps to Replicate: Go to a very low orbit around a celestial body (I just tried it on Moho so far) Fixes / Workarounds (if known..) No mods Screenshots: Also the probe just crashed into the surface because it altered the orbit while writing this post (is there a secret atmosphere on Moho?)..

For my grand tour mission, I'm wondering how much delta-v I will need to get to Moho and back. I plan to depart from Gilly to Moho, and on the way back swing by Eve on a path to the outer system, maybe stop at gilly again. My questions: 1. Should I send the main ship over (5-6 km/s), or should I send over a specialized ion vehicle? 2. How much delta-V do I need exactly? Including landing, but if I send the main ship I have ISRU.

So I built a pretty sweet rover recently and ended up needing to drive it over a significant fraction of Duna's equator to rendezvous with a lander, this was pretty painless and made me think it might not be completely unreasonable to drive the whole way around. Even more recently than that I've noticed Elacno Challenge missions being a thing around here so I decided to try it out in my cool rover. Why am I making a thread about it? Sunk cost fallacy. It's already happening. Hopefully it makes for an interesting read. I chose Vall because it's gravitational situation is pretty similar to Duna, where I know that this rover is capable of high speed long haul driving, It's got mountains that I'm pretty sure my rover can absolutely humiliate with it's climbing power, and it has an easter egg that I've never actually seen in game before. Basically I wanted to know what I was getting myself into, but not so well that there would be no surprises. Except, surprise! I overestimated my vehicle, my computer and my patience quite severely. I fixed a bunch of things with my rover and my PC and decided to move the whole operation to Moho for another try, I start setting up for this almost immediately upon reaching Vall, but actually start moving stuff in Update #4 and the mission on Moho begins in Update #6. Moho's gravity is even more similar to Duna and as far as I knew while planning this move, it's terrain was a little more reasonable. The Journey to Vall: The First Day: I regret everything The Second Log: They're logs now, not days. Third log Report 4: A change of venue Our kerbals make final preparations to leave Vall ahead of schedule as preparations are made elsewhere for their arrival. Five: A new beginning Our crew makes their way to Moho via the absolute safest path because Moho is scary. Guest appearances by Minmus and Gilly. Part VI: A New Continuation Exoloper and her crew finally get underway on Moho 0111: A Continued Continuation The crew of Exoloper further beat a dead horse while making excellent progress across the surface of Moho

The Moho Challenge We neet to talk. About Moho, this tiny, obscure rock close to the burning ball of plasma that is Kerbol. When it comes to exploration, Moho is often dismissed as too tiny, too hard to reach and too hard to land at. But still: Moho is a planet in need of exploration! I challenge you to send a mission to Moho! Scoring You will get 30 points just for reaching the Moho SOI. So even a flyby qualifies for this challenge! However, a lot of additional points can be earned: Mission parameters: +10 points: Reach Moho SOI with a manned craft +40 points: Land your craft of the surface of Moho +10 points: For each landed Kerbal (capped at 30 points) +40 points: Return (i.e. land or spash down. If a few parts rip of, it's fine. But not just crashing) at least a part of your vessel to the surface of Kerbin +10 points: For each Kerbal returned to Kerbin from the surface of Moho (capped at 30 points) Science: +10 points: Transmit some kind of science from the Moho SOI (not cummulative) +10 points: Transmit some kind of science from the Surface of Moho (not cummulative) +10 points: Return some kind of science from the Moho SOI to Kerbin and retrieve it. (not cummulative) +10 points: Return some kind of science from the Moho surface to Kerbin and retrieve it (not cummulative) +20 points: Return a surface sample from Moho and retrieve it. +30 points: Collect science from two different biomes +20 points: Explore the Mohole (use your own discretion on what accounts for "explore") Misc: +5 points: Plant a Flag at Moho +10 points: Leave behind a science station (need probe core, energy, sciency thing and antenna). Mods that grand additional information (e.g Kerbal Enginer) are fine, as are cosmetic mods and so on. No part mods or mods that automate flying. I open to suggestions for more goals. Leaderboard Stock Foxster - 215 points Physics Student - 125 points Modded -

I'm trying to intercept Moho for a mission. Basically to create a new outpost. So far so good. I used the transfer calculator to get the time for the transfer and left Kerbin 10 days prior to the best window. I thought that I would need to use more dV than usual. When I tried to do the burn to get on the same inclination as Moho, I found that it was going to be on the other side of the orbit (see the image) Is there any way to fix the transfer? Thanks

i'm searching for a mod that increases temperature around moho because of realism

First Light: The Journey of the Phthanophaneron It turns out I've never actually done a mission to Moho. Shocking! I call myself a veteran, with well over 1000 hours (though I don't have records of this, I'm fairly sure) of play over the years since version 0.20.2, but I still haven't managed to actually "complete" the game as far as actually visiting all the objects available. Thus, since the transfer window to Moho is the first to occur in my new Career (after spending the first 110 days or so completing the tech tree by thoroughly scrubbing Kerbin, the Mun, and Minmus for Science), I'm taking the opportunity to document the adventure as a sort of refresher course for myself before taking on the Ultimate Jool-5 Challenge once more (since it's been literal years since I last put down the game). For this expedition, I had been made aware that trips to Moho and back often take far more delta-V than one would expect, especially eschewing a gravity assist from Eve and the extra mission time that would entail, so I set my goal at 10 km/s and a maximum acceleration of at least 0.20 gees to avoid excessively long maneuver burns. I prepared what I considered the necessary payload and, based on its total mass, set about drafting some hull designs in the VAB, whereupon I discovered that the ship could certainly meet my needs, but it would be very, very large. Some of you may remember my "Sights of Kidonia" thread from a few years ago wherein I built a grand mothership to tackle the Jool-5 Challenge. While I eventually finished orbital assembly and performed the ejection burn from Kerbin, while it was en route real life got in my way, followed by several updates to the game that altered part geometry and made some of the mission components unusable. The final fatal obstacle was that, once I picked up KSP again a few weeks ago, I discovered whilst doing a test run in a simple ion probe that Kidonia probably never would have been able to complete the full mission for lack of delta-V. It had been designed with just over 9 km/s in total, but that only meets the requirements of a Jool-5 Challenge mission nominally, i.e. in real life one is unlikely to pull off the mission with that much delta-V with extreme luck, extremely meticulous planning, or a lot of gravity assists and thus a very long mission time. In any case, this thing is... comparable in size and has less than half the payload mass. On the one hand, I'm pleased that this gives me an excuse to build an even huger ship for next time, but on the other, increased sophistication in KSP's code base appears to have made the game less performant when operating ships with enormous part counts, so it might be a taller order than I can handle. But enough about Jool. This is a Moho mission! In this thread I'll be documenting the progress of the mission from start to finish and sharing my thoughts.

So, first: I know it is kind of selfish this thread, so I think that when you answer my question I will delete this, second: I wrote this here as I guess it fits well with "questions and gameplay" I guess. So, here there is what is happening: I need someone to calculate an absurd amount of Delta-V. And with absurd I mean a grand tour (actually not really "grand") of the kerbol system: a flyby of Dres, Moho, Kerbin, maybe Eeloo, and maybe maybe maybe a Moho lander. All in one. Without mining. I know, it is crazy, but what I just need the Delta-V, the craft I'll do it. Well, if you ask the reason I can tell you that is a long story. Well I hope someone answers... Oh yeah: I only have one month. Yep, I won't make it probably.

YO! In this time of solitude, I bring to you: M.O.R.P.H.E.U.S. Moho Operational Research Permanent Habitation Experiment Utility Station The KSC has kindly asked Jeb and co. to put together a Moho research base, so this is what I'm told they came up with: To get the job done, we'll need some serious rocketry to get everything into orbit that we need: From left to right: The MORPHEUS Core, the MORPHEUS External Modules, the MORPHEUS Drive Stage, the Verdon S4, the Verdon Crew Habitation Module, and the Moho Lander. For more info on the Verdon S4 and the Verdon Crew Habitation Module, check out the main post: All MORPHEUS craft can be downloaded at: https://kerbalx.com/hangars/98426 All Verdon craft can be download at: https://kerbalx.com/hangars/97494

Moho Moons Mod (1.7.3) Hello all, tired of spending all that fuel just to get to Moho with only a Mohole to explore? Well, do I have something for you. Introducing the Moho Moons mod! What Does this Mod Add? The Moho Moons Mod adds four moons and a submoon to the game's brown furnace. Moho: Same as usual, but with a larger SOI to accommodate the far out moons. Rotisserie: This moon is decently sized relative to Moho and grey in appearance, but boasts several impressive red craters. Honeybaked: This moon is a nice yellowish color and is a great contrast to the scorched brown of Moho. (Get them screenshots!) Doroho: This moon is puzzling, and purple. It is thought to be a captured asteroid made from the same material as Eve. Antiopho: Nicknamed 'Sauna' this moon boasts giant lava oceans and an atmosphere 6% that of Kerbins. Despite the low pressure, flight can still be obtained there by ion gliders. Sohota: Antiopho's moon, Moho's submoon. This world is similar in shape to Doroho, only it is yellow like Honeybaked and has striped red like the moon it orbits. Landing will be easy, but finding a flat place won't. To-Do List New biome maps New color maps CTTP surface textures Science definitions Surface scatter Pictures Rotisserie: Honeybaked: Doroho: Antiopho: Sohota: Download Dependencies: Kopernicus https://spacedock.info/mod/2079/Moho Moons All Rights Reserved

IF YOU CAN MAKE IT THERE, YOU CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE That's what I say about Moho; if I have enough Delta-V to get to Moho, then I can sure as hell get to anywhere else in the Kerbol system (especially Jool's moons). Anyway, I'm preparing a fleet for a trip to Moho and I want your input on what I may be missing for the first wave - or if you think it's good for now. U.S.S. Tarawa*: Can hold up to seven Kerbals at a time {1 viewing cupola, 1 lab (and I also carry all science but the telescope and ore scanner), 1 hitchhiker}, has 32 Mk. 2 docking ports and 16 Mk. 1 docking ports, 4 RA-100 Relay Antennae and plenty of liquid fuel and oxidizer in the reserve tanks. After the boosters run out of fuel, the station will be powered by four nuclear-powered engines to a designated orbit around Moho and send the crew to a prograde equatorial orbit around the planet. I have plenty of spare pure liquid fuel tanks in reserve for the return pod (when I get around to sending it), and reserve tanks of liquid fuel and oxidizer ready for landers. I should have plenty of Delta-V to make it to Moho from here (after I jettison the ascent boosters, of course). * I named it the Tarawa because, before I was born, my dad was in the U.S.M.C. He served in the U.S.S. Tarawa aircraft carrier while stationed in Hawaii; Mom was waiting patiently for him for about a year. Now that Dad's retired from government (he was in the State Department after the Marines), I thought it would be a fun way to honor his service to his country. Interplanetary Weather Satellite: Will put up in polar orbit around Moho and scan for rich ore deposits around the equator. Once I find a spot with a satisfactory minimum concentration (let's say 30% cutoff), I will set up a waypoint there and put my rover and lander there. I also carry some reusable scientific instruments on it. Moho Lander: capable of sending one Kerbal at a time from the U.S.S. Tarawa to the surface of Moho and back up. Doesn't have science on it to save mass since, well, "I'm a lander pod, not a science ship." Which reminds me, I tested its rendezvous and docking capabilities after sending this bad boy up to the Mun and refueling it before ascent - everything worked PERFECTLY. In this screenshot, I'm pointing at the Terrier fuel engine for the final stage (7.288-t mass). Do I have enough thrust to ascend/descend safely? Mini-Bus: Capable of carrying five Kerbals at a time (but will send unmanned), it will carefully land on a spot along Moho's Equator that's rich in ore deposits and start mining ore. When the lander gets there, I will use the claw and dock the rover with the lander before refueling it - it may take a while, but I can't risk running out of fuel during the lander's return rendezvous with the Tarawa. Check out my YouTube channel to see it in action. Concerning landing spots, as Robert Eddison once said, "I must choose, but choose wisely." That's why I'm sending the ore scanner in a polar orbit - to find a good spot beforehand. According to the Delta-V gauge on MechJeb and the community map, I should have enough juice to make it to Moho's surface. I don't want to send too many ships at once, otherwise I may miss my burn window while distracted with one ship (since, you know, nuclear engines are slow with their Delta-Vs). It should still be satisfactory to start a decent operation there. I originally planned to send a permanent single-stage base there too, but then I thought "Nah, send it with the second fleet - after we get a good first peek of the planet. I'll also send the return pod with the replacement crew for the Tarawa along with the base in the second fleet. Questions/concerns/comments?

I'm trying to plan a mission to Moho. While I have MechJeb's Delta-V gauge to tell me if I can or cannot fly directly to Moho - fleet construction and organization is another problem - it does not tell me if I have enough Delta-V to do an Eve Gravity Assist to Moho. Here's the story. While planning transfer orbits for my Eve Fleet two months ago, I saw that the planned maneuver would have taken me in an escape trajectory out of Eve and into a somewhat low circular orbit around Kerbol - I forgot the specifics of the orbit, but it would have enabled me to put the crafts in some designated path for a contract. Now it got me thinking "Hey, maybe I can do that for a trip to Moho." If that's the case, here's my plan for a Eve gravity assist to Moho: Wait until the next Kerbin->Eve transfer window to escape Kerbin's sphere of influence (I have Kerbal Alarm Clock) As soon as I reach Eve's SOI, set my periapsis to 100-125 km and (possibly, it's been months since I was last at Eve) get in an escape trajectory out of Eve. Low periapsis requires less delta-V. Anything lower than 90 km will be dangerous (atmospheric burn-up, aerobraking messing up my escape trajectory, etc.) After leaving Eve's SOI (and in solar orbit), set up a Hohmann Transfer to Moho. On one hand, I get to do a really cool physics-based maneuver and (possibly) save delta-V (I don't say "fuel" since it's not the only factor used in MechJeb's Delta-V gauge) on my way to Moho. On the other hand, here are some numbers that may convince me that flying directly to Moho is just as good as using an Eve gravity assist. DIRECT FLIGHT LKO to Moho's Surface = 5490 m/s LKO to Low Moho Orbit = 4530 m/s EVE GRAVITY ASSIST TO SURFACE LKO to Eve Intercept = 1140 m/s Eve Intercept to Moho's Surface = 4350 m/s 1140+4350 = 5490 m/s TO LOW MOHO ORBIT LKO to Eve Intercept = 1140 m/s Eve Intercept to Low Moho Orbit = 3390 m/s 1140+3390 = 4530 m/s NO DIFFERENCE, IS THERE What do you think I should do to save Delta-V? Should I just stick with direct flights to Moho, or do you recommend I use the Eve Gravity Assist? If the direct flight is the best bet, fine. If the Eve assist is the best bet, then: How do I time it right to have the most efficient flight? Remember: I have Kerbal Alarm Clock. Any instructions for such a flight, or does my plan sound solid? Either way, off to the drawing board (I mean V.A.B.) for me. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello! I've got some problem. My plan was to take almost all of my kerbals on a trip across the system to level them all up. The first point of the travel was Gilly (Eve's moon) because it so happened, that a transfer window coming right about then. From that place, the next closet window was to Moho. But what I didn't do, and what I should have done, was to check the amount of delta V , that is needed to perform that maneuver. Thus while I'm parked in the south pole of Gilly I have 3439 m/s delta V plus around 200 from emptying monopropellant tank and converting ore. I figured that the best moment to get ejected from Eve's system comes In 8 days, because then I almost don't need to correct my trajectory for Moho's orbit inclination. You can also see the way how I get out of Eve's system here. Opposite to the planet's direction of orbiting the Sun. That seems to be the most optimal. That's like the transfer trajectory between planets looks like: And this is the moment when I close the orbit around Moho (not even landing): I reckon that I would need another thousand more to land on the surface. Concluding, in total I'm somewhere around 1500 m/s to short on delta V to pull that off. My question to you guys is... do you see any way of making it work? Maybe some better way of utilizing oberth effect or any tricks of that kind? Thought that there maybe are some space veterans who had some advices. I know I could just refill the fuel in the mid flight with KLM, but I would rather wait for a window to other planet than using cheats. Regards, T

Hi all! I've finally built that base! The space program was so busy with multiple launch windows (I had 3 in less than 20 days: Eeloo, Jool and Duna!), countless lucrative contracts and other shenanigans, that I did not have the time to warp much during the Kerbin -> Moho transfer... And then, the landing site was plunged in the dark upon arrival so, Kerbals had to wait in orbit during almost 30 days until it goes back into daylight. The base has more than 300 parts. The fps was terrible, I had to speed up the videos to around 3:1 - 4:1, so that a second lasts a real second. Next time, I'll assemble a more compact thing in LKO and haul it whole to target. Regardless, the contract system gave me insane amounts of money to finance that. Extract ore, plant a flag, build a teeny-weeny base with a solar panel, 4 seats, an antenna and a docking port, take measurements here and there... It all summed to almost 4.5 million funds and I've only used a fraction of that... Now to the video! Happy launches, Snaky_le_Vrai

Hello internet stalkers with little to no social life! I am here to announce that this project is alive again! -------------------------------------- Today we are going to discuss Moho! Not so many of us have ever been to Moho, probably because it is quite difficult to get there. But we are not going to talk about its future or present. Today we are talking about its past! So I am going to put in a few folders! Running-out atmosphere Orbit Surface features

Hi everyone! I would like to show you my lastest mission to Moho. It may help new players who have some issues reaching this body, or some of you looking for design ideas. Before beginning, note that this was done in Career mode. Transfer Window Planner and Kerbal Engeneer were the only mods used. This mission is completely stock parts. Let's get it started ! First of all, here's the goal of this mission : Fulfill 'Explore Moho' Contract. I'm using an 'apollo style' design in 3 different stages : - Main engines & liquid fuel - Hab module - Moho lander. The whole ship is approximatly optimized for this mission, in terms of weight and delta-V required, but some adjustments can still be done. My personnal challenges on this mission were : Create a 'half-reusable' asparagus nuclear cluster, made with mk3 LiquidFuel parts => using it for this mission, then refueling and reusing it for a closer one. Use high efficiency of the nukes to bring the less fuel possible on our cluster. There won't be any 'interplanetary kick' stage made of size 3 parts. Remember : less is more ! Bringing all the science done home with the crew. Enough talking, let's show you what it looks like ! The trick to catch up Moho is to slow down at your solar periapsis to reduce your injection burn in a significant way. This mission is a single example, feel free to comment or post yours ! Hope this will help !

There comes a time in everyone's KSP career when a destination must be considered.....again! That's right, the first mission to Moho wasn't big enough, so let me introduce OHNO IT'S MY SECOND MISSION TO MOHO! Let's just remind ourselves with a picture of how compact I went the first time round: the first mission to Moho was no small feat, but there was definitely room to go bigger! If you didn't get it from the picture let me fill you in that this was clearly no small probe. I genuinely started out with the best intentions the first time round, but as the wish list for "doing Moho" grew I decided that I required the following to say that I had effectively "done" Moho: 1) Lander: Clearly why bother unless we are actually going for boots on the ground (and returning them safely) Room for 2 Kerbals 2) Orbital outpost: If we are going we are going big and I'm pretty confident I don't want to be sending any more than 1 rocket if I don't have to. Room for 24 in emergencies, but otherwise built to handle 6-12 in spacious living conditions 3) Return vehicle and habitat: Yes, it's a pretty long mission, so the crew needs somewhere to play cards and also to return safely if at all possible. Supports a crew of three with extended living space If you still don't get a picture of the scale of this absurdity then let's cover off some basic facts on the mission with my mission factoids section: Tall - 50.2 meters to be precise. Not the tallest out there but nearly the height of the VAB and certainly long enough to experience massive noodling Wide - Almost exactly 25 meters each way. It's both long and very chubby Heavy - Four thousand five hundred tonnes, and seven hundred kilos (snacks). the trans Moho injection vehicle and payload alone are over 800 tonnes Computer crushing - 608 parts on the launch pad. Could be worse but it's not friendly. Luckily Gerty 3000 is up to the job Expensive - 1,659,692 things. So what's going to change this time? Why bother going any bigger than I already did? Well a couple of reasons. Firstly I don't think I did the ground well enough. This will be a much bigger ground mission, taking into account two separate challenges: The Moho Challenge by @Xeldrak: The Elcano Challenge by @rkarmark: So I'm going to go to Moho, deploy both ground and orbital modules and gain as near to maximum points as possible in the Moho challenge, complete the Elcano challenge for Moho, and then somehow get home. Not only am I going to do this, but it's going to be stock (apart from visual mods for pretty pictures) and there's going to be some sort of narrative, and lots of interesting things to see along the way with you joining me right at the start of the design phase. So let's take stock of where we are at at this point. The first module that is already complete is the Moho ground operations platform: Room for 8 in an emergency, but designed for mission length ground operations for 4. With 43 parts, and weighing 11.508t it means I'm already on my way to a computer melting ship. The Moho ground operation platform descends on two Mk-55 Thud engines, and will decouple 1 drop tank during it's descent to the surface. Margins are tight, but it should be able to cope with a landing from around 150km orbit. Once on the ground it will mark the start and end point for the Elcano mission, as well as providing valuable points for leaving behind a science platform (an orbital platform is also planned) Delivery of the Moho ground operations platform was courtesy of the new Kenman Superduty truck specifically designed for transporting heavy payloads to KSC: The Kenman Superduty will be the main vehicle for transporting completed modules to the VAB for assembly into the main payload. Two or more may be required to shift the massive weight of the as yet unknown launch vehicle. Here's another view of low loader plus payload: So that's it for the moment folks. I'm expecting this mission to take literally weeks or very possibly months, but I will provide updates and interesting tidbits as I run through the design and engineering phase, and then on to the mission proper. Stay tuned! SM

Prologue: Year 2110 This is the start of a new series. This is NOT related to Advancing through Hardships, this is an entirely new alternate universe. I am going camping though these next few days so expect sometime before the first chapter.

My newest videos of a Moho transit and a simultaneous Eve and Mun transit. Used Tarsier Space Tech.

Nice and straightforwards: land on Moho, come home to Kerbin, do it as cheap as you can. Three categories: Basic: land and return any vessel. No Kerbals required. Intermediate: land and return alive a Kerbal. Plant a flag while you're there. Advanced: land and return alive a Kerbal scientist (so a probe core or copilot will be required for SAS) plus one of every scientific instrument (ie: materials bay, goo pod, thermometer, barometer, seismometer, gravity detector, atmospheric sampler)[1]. Plant a flag while you're there. Stock parts only and Wheaton's Law applies. Autopilot and visual mods are fine, but nothing physics altering. Try to keep part-clipping and similar trickery to cosmetic levels; minimise the cheese factor. You can use any method you like; single launch, multiple launch, refuel in orbit, nukes, ions, ISRU [2] whatever. But the cost-minus-recovery of every launch involved goes against your score. Post VAB screenshots of every vessel involved to show the price; also post proof of the journey and proof of recovery for any parts recovered. Distance from KSC does matter for recovery value. Cheapest mission wins. SCOREBOARD Basic @Clancy, √4,996 @ManEatingApe, √7,925 Intermediate Advanced @Clancy, √4,523.6 @ManEatingApe, √28,628 @Physics_Student, √55,218 (no recovery) @Wanderfound, √86,770 [1] As in, send scientist and experiments, return scientist. You don't need to bring the goo pod etc. home; just the data wil do. [2] No ISRU mining on Kerbin to offset fuel costs, however.

Well I figured the KSN Kraken worked out ok, so why not try a surface ship. I present KSN 120 Moho. She's a 400 ton destroyer.

Does anyone have any experience and/or tips regarding the use of ion engines when voyaging between Kerbin and Moho? (Pardon me if this has been discussed elsewhere. Search seems inop at the moment.)

This was based of this challenge: The Challenge Fly from the surface of Kerbin to the surface of Moho and back using a craft that weights 50 tons on the launchpad. You must bring a Kerbal on the mission. Scoring The lowest mass gets the biggest piece of cake. How low can you go? The leaderboard also has 2 categories, those that used ISRU and those that didn't. The Rules: - The Kerbal cannot push the ship back to Kerbin with their EVA pack since it will refuel when they enter the craft giving you limitless delta-v if you're patient enough. - You can do as many gravity assists at you deem necessary. - You must bring at least one Kerbal on the mission. - No cheats such as infinite fuel or hack gravity. (obviously) - No kraken drives. - ISRU is allowed. Submissions - Submissions can be submitted by imgur album, mission report or video. You don't need to capture everything but you should document the important burns and course corrections that you do. - If your submission shows that you completed the challenge then you will be added to the completion list with a link to your submission. Completion Board (No mining) - @JacobJHC :42.64 Tons, Used a large xenon tank and an orange tank only, had to aerocapture back at Kerbin without a heat shield. Did not bring parachutes. Video Submission - @HarrySeaward: 37.973 Tons, used a spaceplane apparatus to lift it onto a suborbital trajectory, used a nerva to push into orbit, then to Moho on a direct encounter. Used an ion engine for the capture burn. Used a small spark powered lander, used ion shuttle to return to Kerbin, landed in a capsule left in orbit from launch. Video Submission - 19.116 Tons, A second submission, Used a spaceplane style launch using 2 rapiers and a nerva. Used an ion shuttle to go to Moho, land and return. Once in low Kerbin orbit the craft rendezvoused with a capsule they left in orbit at launch. Video link here. - @IncongruousGoat: 24.233 Tons, used a spaceplane style launch, used an ion shuttle to get to Moho, used a tiny lander to get down to the surface. Tight xenon margins upon return, landed in an invisible ocean. Overall a very nice mission. Imgur link here. - 4.750 Tons, One word, how? A second, astronomically more impressive submission. Used a rapier engine to get mostly into orbit, finishing circularization with an ion engine, used an Eve gravity assist to get to Moho, used a small lander with the transfer stage's ion engine to land and return to the main ship. Used the ion engine to slow down back at Kerbin, aerobraked a little bit before safely spashing down in the ocean with a drogue chute. Very impressive. Imgur Link here. - @Mesklin: 6.174 Tons, Oh my indeed. The ship, called the Sun Shark, used a single rapier to throw the ship off the surface and into the upper atmosphere then used an ion engine to push the ship to Moho, detached a lander using the same ion engine, then returns to Kerbin where Phoanna Kerman graciously landed on top of a mountain. Imgur link here (check this thing out). - @Firemetal 34.053 Tons, used a small launch vehicle to get to orbit, used a terrier engine to circularize and begin the ejection burn, used an Eve gravity assist, used an interesting multi-stage ion shuttle with a tiny lander. Aerocaptured back at Kerbin and landed in the ocean by using only the Kerbal's jetpack. A truly Kerbal mission that was executed excellently. - @maccollo 49.639 Tons, used a conventional rocket without xenon, air-breathing engines or command seats. He used a spark engine for the landing and return to Kerbin, a long nerva stage to help him into orbit and then transfer, capture and help land on Moho, and lastly a vector engine to get out of the lower atmosphere of Kerbin. Video Submission Completion Board (Mining)