How do I science?

[Madwolf]

I'm in Campaign mode, first time I've ever played the game outside of the tutorials, and I've got a Kerbal, Bill, stuck in Orbit. I can't save Bill right now because I have no means of rescue. I can get my single manned craft into orbit and back to Kerbin again, but because I can't figure out how to do Science I can't get the equipment necessary to stage a rescue attempt.

I have the basic parts unlocked and the 1st rocket and stabilizer unlocks.

I'm not really sure how to literally do Science. I've orbited Kerbin and gotten back safely and recovered my craft, but outside of that I don't really know what to do. I've seen people saying you can do Science on Biomes of Kerbin but I don't know how to properly get there. I have kind of just been playing this by ear so far. Once I'm landed I don't know how to do Science.

I also don't know when I should and shouldn't leave the space capsuel to do Science. I feel like my little Kerbal buddy is going to get launched some how away from my craft and die a horrible death.

Help me please, I have to save Bill!

[Johnno]

The forum's Tutorials subforum should be plenty helpful.

And when in doubt, right click stuff and click whatever shows up, learn by doing (even if it's mistakes).

[Spyritdragon]

Essentially, at the point youre at, theres two main ways of science: crew reports from your capsule and eva reports from Kerbals on eva. First, at launch, make sure to attach an antenna. This will transmit science back to Kerbin using electricity. Watch out, since power is hard to get by early on.

Get your rocket to orbit, and along the way in atmosphere, every now and then right click your capsule, select "crew report" and hit transmit. Dont take any more reports when youre about to shut off your engines since it takes alot of power to transmit. Once you get apoapsis to around 75, cut the engine and coast till you hit 60km. There, EVA your kerbal and take an EVA report, but this tkme, keep it rathrr than transmit it.

Theres a big difference between eva and crew reports. You can store as many eva reports as you want in your capsule as long as theyre from a different place, but you only gain 50% science when you transmit them. Crew reports get you 100% science, but you can only hold one.

Get back in your capsule, and finish your orbit. During this orbit finishing burn, take another crew report and transmit it while youre still gaining power.

From there on take a single crew report, but keep it. Then eva your kerbal and make a full orbit, taking reports above grasslands, highlands, the sea, mountains and stuff. Keep all the eva reports in your capsule. These places are "biomes", and each grants you new science when you take an EVA report. After youve reported all biomes, burn retro, land your rocket and recover it. Thisll get you alot of science :-). Note that each scource of science has only limited science to find, but each biome depletes seperately and EVA and crew reports also deplete seperately. After a while, youll have to go to the mun for more science, and farther out from there. But Kerbin can net you most of the basic supplies.

Also, after a while, you can also research science modules. These are additional, seperately depleting pools of science for you to use.

[LtHeckard]

If you right click your capsule, you can select the crew report button, and you can transmit it or you can take it back to Kerbin, but you can lose some scientific value if you transmit the data. You can take your Kerbal out on EVA and you can right click him and do an EVA report. Keep the data and get back into your capsule. You can choose to transmit the data or you can take it back to Kerbin. You also get more science landing back on Kerbin and recovering your spacecraft.

EDIT: Don't forget to put an antenna onto your spacecraft or you cannot transmit data!

[Rex3921]

A majority of my science was got on Kerbin! Even on the Launch Pad is a good start! Just make a capsule only ship! Then do Crew reports and Mystery Goo reports, that's if you unlocked the Goo first. Then EVA and take an EVA report and a surface sample. Then Recover Vessel. Around 40 points already.

Then make a basic rocket with decouple, parachute and Goo. Then fly to the nearby Ocean and do all the same actions. After that go to the Poles, Deserts etc...

Hope I Helped!

-Rex3921

[toomuchbrew]

There are so many ways to science. If you are having trouble getting to the Mun or Minmus, try going around too each biome on Kerbin. That could round out the tier two nodes or further

[JumpsterG]

Do you even Science?

Simple steps:

-Make sure you have a pod that can come down softly (parachute!).

-Launch and land anywhere on Kerbin (Even at the space center!)

-Right click the pod and use Crew Report (Keep the report!)

-Have your kerbal EVA outside on the ground (or in water, they can swim!)

-Right click Mr. Kerbal and use Collect Sample (Keep the sample!)

-Right click him again and choose EVA Report (Keep the report!)

-If possible, have the Kerbal re-enter the pod (Might be bobbing in the water!)

-Move mouse to the top of the altimeter and use the uncovered "Recover" Button (Can do this from the tracking station, too!)

You've earned science! Repeat this by bringing your pod to more exotic locations. Repeated experiments in the same place produce less and less science. Experiments performed in space or on other worlds will bring lots more points than those at Kerbin. I don't recommend antennas or dishes until you've got batteries and such to power them. Also, reverting flight will give you NOTHING as it takes you back in time to the beginning of the mission.

Also, EVAs in orbit are great for science! Remember you can press "R" to use the kerbal's jetpack to get back to the ship, be careful not to get too far away, though!

Edited November 6, 2013 by JumpsterG

[Madwolf]

Do you even Science?

Simple steps:

-Make sure you have a pod that can come down softly (parachute!).

-Launch and land anywhere on Kerbin (Even at the space center!)

-Right click the pod and use Crew Report (Keep the report!)

-Have your kerbal EVA outside on the ground (or in water, they can swim!)

-Right click Mr. Kerbal and use Collect Sample (Keep the sample!)

-Right click him again and choose EVA Report (Keep the report!)

-If possible, have the Kerbal re-enter the pod (Might be bobbing in the water!)

-Move mouse to the top of the altimeter and use the uncovered "Recover" Button (Can do this from the tracking station, too!)

You've earned science! Repeat this by bringing your pod to more exotic locations. Repeated experiments in the same place produce less and less science. Experiments performed in space or on other worlds will bring lots more points than those at Kerbin. I don't recommend antennas or dishes until you've got batteries and such to power them. Also, reverting flight will give you NOTHING as it takes you back in time to the beginning of the mission.

Also, EVAs in orbit are great for science! Remember you can press "R" to use the kerbal's jetpack to get back to the ship, be careful not to get too far away, though!

Alright, I've gotten a LOT Of Science done recently with Jeb and Bob while Bill floats around space without any engine or fuel to get him back to Kerbin.

My question right now is how do I target certain Biomes on Kerbin to land there? Right now I just randomly end up places after orbit, and because my Science Jr is on the bottom of my capsule (with landing struts on the Science Jr) if I land in water my Science Jr explodes and I lose Science!

Right now I'm having problems with Time Warner Cable and my internet, it's been down for 7 days! I want to be at home so I can read the forums and learn a lot more about the game, like how to improve my shuttle design, but that's hard when you can only get to the net on lunch at work. Hopefully (after 4 reschedules) they'll fix my internet today and I can read more tips on how to rescue Bill pretty soon.

[JumpsterG]

Internet access should be considered a basic human need at this point. Hope it's up again soon!

As for reaching biomes: Without being able to build planes, your next option is to come down from an orbital or suborbital path onto the target location. The best biome to practice targeted landing is the desert across the ocean west of the space center. It's a big target and it's along the equator, so getting into a low orbit by launching east will take you over the biome without any extra maneuvers (go east to go west!). Use a maneuver node to plan a burn that will bring you down somewhere in the middle of the desert, typically placing the maneuver 45ish orbital degrees before approach. You'll quickly learn that you'll come up short of your target line quite a bit; this is because the map trajectories do not factor in the atmosphere slowing you down.

For surviving the fall on LAND and not water there's a few tricks you can use with the starting parts to get you down safely.

-The rectangular strut available from the beginning can be used as crude landing gear if they extend past the parts you want to protect

-You can attach extra parachutes to the ends of the struts or radially attached fuel tanks

-You can save a little fuel and burn straight up just before landing to slow down a bit more

-An upside-down stack decoupler will drop what it's connected to but remain attached to the pod above, making it a handy radial attach point for exact 90 degree placement of other parts (the Mk1 pod is slanted, so can be annoying to attach things to)