Lacker

That moment when "what if I..." turns in to "holy crap this is going to work!": Neat. Congrats

Thanks for the welcome! As you can probably tell I use an older version of KSP (I purchased it as soon as it was available and have upgraded several times but haven't upgraded recently because right now I'm forced to run it on my laptop and this build seems to work best), I also don't really use any mods or anything. After about a year of trial and error I used Mech Jeb to check my orbital techniques (running it to compare to what I did to see if there were more efficient ways) and I've read about ISRU and while I think it's really neat I still appreciate the challenge of assist-missions. I also really want to build a lander that is nimble enough to dock on Ike's surface with a landed fueling depot but so far anyhow that's been pretty tough to do. It's a fun challenge though! I'm attaching some images of the surface assets that I do have. The first is the rover with the landing stage that brings it to the surface (and later becomes an outpost/service module), the second is the original Phoenix Lander on descent to Duna (with the Europa Crew Ship and Assist trailer visible in the background), the third is the Challenger 1 rover, the Oasis Habitat, and the Phoenix Heavy Lander (7 crew capacity instead of 3) parked together, and the last 2 are Challenger 1 on its way to Ike's North Pole. 20km from Oasis on the way back from the pole a faulty saved game (the rover would only load with it's wheels in the ground) caused a catastrophic explosion throwing the rover 400m into the air. I was able to bring it down using RCS without killing the crew but the rover was lost. The last picture is hard to make out but it gives some perspective on the air you can catch on Ike driving along at 30 or so m/s (taken on the way back from the pole about 100km from where the Rover would ultimately die). The fact that the rover could tolerate landings like the one pictured was pretty neat I thought though getting it up to speed the low gravity is a bit of a chore.

Here are some screens of Crew Ships for fun too

New to the community, not sure how to post extended entries with images so I am starting with this post to gauge interest. If people want me to share more I will figure out how! Long time KSP player, I have recently begun a campaign to explore Ike and some friends of mine suggested I share screens here. It is a convenient target for ambitious and lazy players alike as it is nearby and Duna's atmosphere provides aerobraking assist which helps save fuel for landings and the return trips, and because it has relatively low gravity which makes driving hard but landing easy. I am now testing the same basic tech package on trips to Jool. The first image is a quick-look at the tech-package that I have developed. The caption specifies which craft is which. The second image is one look at some of these vehicles. Here is a list of the vehicles built for these missions I have mission photos and launch photos for each if folks are interested! 1 - Crew Ship (2 in service, 1 orbits Duna and the other serves as the ferry for crews). In order of their entry into service, Hermes, Duna, Mars, Europa, Aurora, and Juno the Crew Ship is the backbone of I.S.O. Capable of carrying 18-21 Kerbals direct from Kerbin - Duna or Jool in a 2-stage launch, the crew ships later couple with landers, Icarus Station, and Assist craft in situ. Crew ships are re-usable but it is typically quicker to recycle them from Kerbin orbit and launch direct than it is to refuel them in orbit after a round-trip mission. 2 - Phoenix Lander / Phoenix Heavy Lander (1 per Crew Ship / Station). The 3-person Phoenix Lander and the upgraded 7-person Phoenix Heavy Lander are the vehicles that take Kerbals through entry descent and landing. Landers have safely delivered Kerbalnauts to Duna, Ike, Kerbin, and now Laythe. Each crew ship and every station is assigned a lander, at least so far as Duna is concerned the landers are capable of the return trip to Kerbin if necessary. Typically flown attached to station components on top of a 3-stage launch vehicle. The Halo Lander is the next-generation heavy lander currently in development, it will be capable of ferrying 23 Kerbals to and from Ike's surface. 3 - Assist Craft Assist craft come in various sizes, they are non-piloted flights consisting of fuel and supplies. 1 Assist craft can refuel a crew ship and support 2 - 3 landings in the Duna system. Assist craft are typically launched each available window. 4 - Icarus Station Launched attached to the Phoenix Heavy Lander assigned to the Europa Crew Ship, Icarus Station now orbits Ike at 20km. With accommodations for nearly 30 Kerbalnauts it is the primary support (fuel depot, communications hub, emergency assist) vehicle for all surface operations. 5 - Challenger-series Rovers / Outposts (2) The Challenger-series rover is a 3-person, 2-story vehicle capable of flotation and driving over steep and/or rugged terrain. Each rover is coupled to an "Outpost" lander which plops the rover on the surface and then lands nearby as an emergency shelter/service module. Challenger 1 flew with the Eagle Outpost and then drove from the Oasis Habitat to Ike's Northern pole. The rover suffered catastrophic failure 20km from the culmination of its mission but the outpost is still in service. Challenger 2 flew coupled to the Beacon Outpost both of which are still in service on Ike. Challenger 3 flew attached to Angel for operations in the Jool system. 6 - Oasis Habitat Oasis is the primary habitat for surface operations on Ike. Capable of housing 17 kerbalnauts the Oasis is the landing-zone and coordinating hub of all I.S.O. operations. With Oasis, Eagle, Beacon, and Challenger 2 in place missions now consist of a 3-launch sequence sending a new Crew Ship, an Assist craft, and a Lander craft along with the return flight of the prior crews. I've flown 8 such missions now using exclusively this technology with little to no trouble besides my own carelessness and incompetence (which is ample). Again, if have VAB images, launch images, and in situ images of everything, lemme know if you wanna take a gandner and I will figure out how to post more images each time