Mun Rescue Operation Possible?

[The ASP]

Not sure if this should be in the challenges section or not, but here goes: A Kerbal capsule has crash landed on the Mun. I hit the surface at roughly 50m/s, which I believe is 10x the recommended landing speed. Major damage was sustained to the capsule, resulting in broken landing gear and all engines lost. I landing leg remains operational, the others are nearby: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=154289222

Normally we could mount a rescue mission (since we have to go down on the Mun) and EVA, and then bring him home. HOWEVER, I've somewhat of a newb at this, and didn't realize 2 things after I had landed...

First, part of the reason I had such a rough landing is that I did not realize that the parachutes would not open because of the lack of atmosphere on the Mun. Hence, I ran out of fuel right before I landed.

Second, I did not realize that the texture of the capsule entry/exit door was more than just that, it ACTUALLY is the door, and does matter if you do put something on top of it, say, like a parachute.

So my question is...is it possible to rescue this Kerbal? There are no docking ports on the capsule. It has one leg only. I would like to do this stock, if possible, no mods. I know there are no grappling hooks or such. Any suggestions, or is my Kerbal doomed?

[Sauron]

If you've blocked the hatch with a parachute and have no way to connect the capsule to something else, then yes, you are most definitely doomed.

If you wanted to use non-stock parts, then the Kerbal Attachment System mod might be the answer for an utterly terrifying (but really awesome!) rescue mission--KAS adds grappling hooks, so you could send a larger lander to tow the capsule. This may not work (the connection mightn't be strong enough) but that's half of the fun. Actually, I think I'm going to deliberately try to set up this scenario now to see if it's actually possible.

[AncientAstronaut]

Nope. Game over. Erect a memorial plaque and suffer through the loss.

And lol parachutes on the mun hahaha

[stupid_chris]

You could try something absolutely crazy and complicated with stock parts. Basically, by aligning them carefully, you could do some sort of grapple with landing legs. That way when you extend them, they close together and grab whatever was in the middle. So you land this right over your capsule, fly it back to Kerbin (hopefully it will stay in there) and release it in the atmosphere where it's parachutes should allow it to land safely. But that's gonna be hard. But not impossible.

I've seen people collect debris in space by using this technique, so why not a capsule on the Mun?

That would literally be the most Kerbal rescue ever.

Edited June 22, 2013 by stupid_chris

[jwenting]

hmm, or build a rover and gently nudge it so it starts rolling slowly. Helps if it's sitting on a gentle slope as well, just rocking it could give just enough clearance to get out.

[stupid_chris]

hmm, or build a rover and gently nudge it so it starts rolling slowly. Helps if it's sitting on a gentle slope as well, just rocking it could give just enough clearance to get out.

The parachute won't come off the hatch by rolling

[Kreuzung]

You can try ramming it with a rover. Capsules genrally can sustain higher forces than many other parts, so you might break off or explode the part you don't want anymore.

Edit:

>stupid_chris

It might fall off, depending on how you hit the ground with it... it's at least worth a try, and if it fails, it's at least fun to roll around hehe

[MBobrik]

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I would also add that with panels and rover wheels you don't have to hover. just build a rover/lander, that has a low sloped panel, land near the pod, force yourself under the pod, secure it with landing legs, and fly off to Kerbin. But beware, you can't time warp while doing this. So, if the capsule has enough chutes to land on its own, steer it into a reentry trajectory and release it. When not, you have to release it, ( or it will clip trough you anyway ), zero relative velocity, time warp, and catch it before entering atmosphere so you can land it on your chutes. Edited June 22, 2013 by MBobrik

[Lazro]

Is it a big 3-man pod? If so, hope is still there-you just need to hit that one parachute hard enough.

[Spyritdragon]

Im afraid you chose a fragile capsule, mostly intended for space stations i believe. Your parachute has 12m/s impact tolerance, your capsule only 8.

So your options now are to lift it using either the KAS mod or a landing leg construction, although the latter will be dangerous.

You can also try burning the parachute off with a rover-mounted engine by slowly heating it up more and more till you hit 3100K, the maximum heat tolerance for your chute. Do it slowly, because the heat tolerance of your capsule is 3400, which is higher, but not by much. You don't want to fry your Kerbal.

Finally, you can try shooting it using sepratrons as rockets. This requires precise aim and will surely be dangerous though, so exhaust other options first.

[MBobrik]

You can also try burning the parachute off with a rover-mounted engine by slowly heating it up more and more till you hit 3100K, the maximum heat tolerance for your chute.

I don't think that it is actually implemented that you can destroy stuff that way.

[Boffinbox]

i'd call it a day. rename it to "Graveyard 1" and then just leave it

(if you hadn't put a parachute on the door you could just eva into orbit and send a ship to collect)

[Spyritdragon]

I don't think that it is actually implemented that you can destroy stuff that way.

My mission logs regularly state that pieces from my spent stages get damaged by engine exhausts. Is there a way that might be used then?

[Kreuzung]

You can use engines to burn things. The heat system is the same for every part, even if you only really notice it on engines.

[MBobrik]

You can use engines to burn things. The heat system is the same for every part, even if you only really notice it on engines.

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tested it, and it WORKS !

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[KerbMav]

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tested it, and it WORKS !

Best laugh for today!

I seriously would try to grab the caspule with a robot arm of some sorts though.

Either get the robot arms mod or one with an electro magnet and try to pick up the capsule that way.

[BFGfreak]

The best and safest option would be downloading KAS, hooking it up to your capsule and towing it home. From there it's all downhill in terms of safety and chances of success, but you will have a laugh doing it.

[tek_604]

Another option would be to use the Sunbeam Lazor to shoot the parachute off. It works in exactly the same way demonstrated by MBobrik and his engines. Install Romfarer LazorSystem & Sunbeam (also in the first post, look towards the bottom). Get close for accuracy, and profit!

Sunbeam can actually be downloaded from http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/sunbeam/

Edited June 22, 2013 by tek_604
Added link for Sunbeam Lazor

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

I think you should start pretending that this is a Munar Base

[N_Molson]

That's really a nasty failure, a blocked hatch is not fun. As said above, the biggest problem is that your crew cabin is a pretty frail one, else I would roll it until the parachute blows. I like the idea of burning the parachute part, that could work. My only fear is that the gravity is low on the Mun, so the operation might prove difficult (how to keep the vehicles aligned ?). Which leads to the "grapple" solution, in my opinion your best chance of success.

Good luck, and always check if there is an atmosphere or not, and how thick/thin it is !

@ MBobrik : I love your test stand, that's real Kerbal science !

Edited June 22, 2013 by N_Molson

[FrontierProject]

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tested it, and it WORKS !

LOL! Kerbel engineering at its finest

[jwenting]

The parachute won't come off the hatch by rolling

true, read it as having tipped over and landed on the hatch.

[tek_604]

I do hope the OP lets us all know what he did, and how it turned out.