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Note/Disclaimer/Whatever it's called: This is not a full-fledged challenge just yet, this thread is for discussing how a KSP version of the Google Lunar X Prize challenge could be held on this forum. Also, please excuse the mess. Right, so a few days ago, I heard the news about the final teams in the Lunar X Prize, and I thought, why not make it a KSP challenge? Obviously, there are quite a few complications, which is why I'm making this "discussion" thread first. So, I'll be taking the guidelines from this website, and adapting it so it can be done in KSP. If you disagree with something feel free to comment and discuss. After all, that's why I'm making this "challenge development" thread first. Anyway, let's get to it: So far, this is how I'll score the challenge: Players would have to use Kerbal Construction Time, and the build+rollout time of their rocket and spacecraft would be added to the MET after all the mission requirements have been completed. Shortest total time wins. Unfortunately, due to fact that the MET clock resets when undocking, I'll have to ban the use of docking ports. Sorry guys. Maybe, completing the optional "prize purse" challenges would earn the player a set amount of time deducted from their total time - so for example, maybe visiting a monolith (the Apollo Heritage bonus prize) would take off a certain amount of time from the total time (say, 1 kerbal day deducted). Mission requirements Land safely on the surface of Minmus I'm thinking Minmus because there's more stuff to do compared to the Mun Mobility Here's where it gets tricky. The real LXP states that the craft must move at least 500 meters from the landing site. Hard enough in real life, very easy in KSP. Therefore, I think a suitable mobility requirement would be to drive 25 kilometers from the landing site. However, this could get tedious very quickly, so if anyone has any other ideas, please share! Mooncasts The real LXP states that two 8-minute pieces of video must be taken by the vehicle, one directly after landing and one after the mobility requirements have been completed. Instead of this, I think one video documenting the entire process of launching, landing on Minmus and completing the mission requirements would be good. In this video, the KCT build+rollout times would have to be shown, along with the MET after all the requirements have been completed. Data uplink I have no idea how this can be done in KSP. I guess I'll leave it alone for now. Payload Not too difficult, I could make a small craft that would need to be hauled over to Minmus along with the main vehicle. Private funding Yeeaahhh... judging that there's no government in KSP, I guess I'll be leaving that alone. Maybe instead have a maximum cost limit, like 50,000 kerbucks for the vehicle only (the rocket, supplied by me, would not be included in the cost)? Deadline Not sure what the deadline would be just yet, but there would be one deadline for when submissions should be designed and ready for launch (with screenshots included), and one deadline after that before which all missions should be launched to Minmus (with a video of the mission included). Prize purse In the real LXP, the first team to complete all the mission requirements gets $20 million, and the second team gets $5 million. Since this is KSP, and there's no significance in money, completing these bonus objectives will result in a specific time being deducted from the total time (these times are of course subject to change based on feedback). Apollo heritage bonus prize (1 kerbal day - 6 hours - deduction) For this one, instead of visiting landers, the player could visit monoliths instead. Range bonus prize (2 kerbal days - 12 hours - deduction) Instead of having your vehicle move the required 25 kilometers, maybe travelling to the highest elevation on Minmus? Not sure where that is, though. Survival bonus prize Since things in KSP are pretty much indestructible unless you blow things up, I'll ignore this one for now. Water detection bonus prize (3 hours deduction) Instead of water, maybe the vehicle would have to detect for ore instead? If concentrations above, say, 10% (subject to change) are found, this bonus objective had been accomplished? Team/Player Requirements The real competition required teams to acquire launch contracts by Dec 31 2016. Of course, in KSP there is no need for this; you can just build your own rocket in a few minutes. Therefore, I'm thinking (bear with me, this is complicated) that we have a limited number and design of rockets, just like in real life. I would provide these rockets, which would have different payload capacities to LKO (100x100km), different costs, different KCT build times, etc. It should be noted that when doing the mission, you are only allowed to use the rocket to get you into a 100x100km orbit around Kerbin. At this point, the rocket that got the submission into orbit should be discarded, and any further maneuvers should be completed under the submission vehicle's own power. Reporting This can be ignored for now, I wouldn't need weekly/monthly updates on the vehicle progress. Access to facilities and information Again, this can be ignored for now Spacecraft communication Every submission vehicle should have an antenna with a range capable of talking to Kerbin from Minmus. Also, what do you guys think about the vehicle having to be in contact with a Kerbin ground station at all times? I would set up a (half-decent ) relay network around Minmus, so it would be in contact with Kerbin even when direct line of sight is occluded by Minmus. Other rules 1. Complete all of the mission requirements. 2. All the team/player requirements must be met. 3. Only stock parts and aerodynamics, apart from the KER and Mechjeb parts (I'll add a separate FAR category if people want that). 4. KER and Mechjeb are ok for informational use, but Mechjeb cannot be used for piloting. 5. No autopilot mods. In this challenge, you'll be flying by hand, the good old-fashioned way. 6. No Alt+F12 menu, hyperedit, or any other shenanigans. 7. Commnet must be on throughout the mission, with both occlusion sliders set to 100% (I know I'll be providing the save file, but the Commnet settings can be changed from within the save and I want to make sure nobody does that). 8. Multiple forum users can be in a "team" and work together on the same vessel (I don't know why people would do that, but I'm just putting the option out there). 9. All submission vehicles must be uploaded to KerbalX, Dropbox, etc. As per the forum rules Mediafire isn't allowed due to ads. 10. The rocket will only get the vehicle into LKO. The trans-Minmal injection burn and other maneuvers will have to be completed under the submission vehicle's own power. 11. All submissions must be ready by the deadline (haven't thought of one yet, but will be in the format of MM-DD HH:MM:SS (month-date, hour-minute-second), time zone GMT (probably). 12. All missions must be completed using the provided save file (not provided yet, I'll make one when I have time). 13 and onward. Any other rules that I might come up with (I probably definitely will). That's all for now folks, and remember, this isn't the actual challenge thread, it's a discussion thread for a future challenge thread. Leave suggestions to make this better, and hopefully, soon we can make the Minmal X Prize challenge a proper challenge! Thanks for reading!