I had only just unlocked the SC-9000 Science Jr, and sent Bob up with it and 2 goo containers, hoping to land on the Mun with it. I realized on Munar orbit that if I went for the landing, he'd be stuck there, so I stayed in high orbit; but still had lotsa dV. For the first time, I burned for Minmus, after finding a surpisingly cheap solution; and was reveling in all the science he'd be bringing home. On the return trip, I was distracted by RL right at the node, and wasn't as efficient as I could've been, and ended up with a peri at 69,000m, but my apo being near Mun, as I recall, when I ran outa gas. I used all my RCS to bring down my apo, then had nothing... I was stuck between waiting for the atmosphere to slow him down enough, or just reloading; and loosing all that precious science. On one of the peri's, Bill popped his nosetip parachute, hoping that would be enough to keep him in atmo. The lid didn't so much as pop off. Ultimately, that wait for drag had brought his peri's down into the 50k range. Before that point, I think he was only out there about 9 days or so. After waiting 111 days, fast forwarding through high altitudes, I had committed too much to lose the save. I built another rocket, without the lander stuff, and with my new Rockomax solid boosters, put my best guy, Jeb, in, and sent him up to PUSH him into the atmosphere. I haven't unlocked any docking stuff, the claw, or anything. At the Apoapsis, finally rendezvoused, with just drops of fuel for the main engine, electric juice almost gone, Jebadiah Kerman oriented himself so that Bill's craft and the retrograde vector were in-line, using RCS, in order to conserve electric for torque, and made the burn. Of course he wasn't able to stay in line with Bill's craft, and crashed through; but all that remained was that his whole mission's hope; that nudge, was enough to knock 'em home. Leaving that to hope, Jeb reluctantly prepared for reentry himself. He landed, looking to the sky behind him; his craft recovering some scant 3 science, for any trace of Bill. The nudge was enough. Bill's first parachute held through reentry; and was joined in timely manner by the other 2, to be recovered, after almost a year in space without food, with Science Jr and the GooPods, and over 100 science for Kerbalkind.