How much science can each capsule hold?

[Jeffdude]

Hello,

I play on science mode, and I have recently placed a research station in Mun orbit, with a scientist. This means that I can spam science and restore everything. So far, it seems that I have been limited by the amount of scientific records in the various capsules. As an example, I think I can only store one materials study in the mk1 cockpit and the inline cockpit. But the research laboratory can seemingly store infinite science! (or as long as I have been using it, it has not reached a cap). But, the science loses tons of value when transmitted, so I want to go retrieve it.

If I am so tightly limited by the capacity of the capsules, I have just thought of sending a transfer laboratory up there with a heat shield on it so that I can reenter with it, and retrieve all the sweet sweet science. That seems like a good idea, but a little counterintuitive. So is there anyway I can retrieve the science with capsules?

So far, I haven't found any info on just how much science each capsule can hold. There isn't any list of how many Mits of data or how many of each science module each capsule can hold, so I was wondering if any of you all knew?

Thanks!

Edited May 23, 2015 by Jeffdude

[Eric S]

The actual limit in the capsule is one result per experiment per location (as the experiment sees locations).

So you can launch into a polar orbit and get an EVA report over every biome, since EVA reports consider being over different biomes as different locations while "in space near" a planet or moon. The thermometer, on the other hand, will only get one report "in space near" since the surface biome doesn't affect the results that the experiment generates at that height. It will, however, be able to store a second report if taken "high above" the planet since that is a separate location.

Even crew reports can be done this way, though since the capsule acts like a science part, you have to remove the results via EVA before you can run a second crew report.

[KarateF22]

You can hold every single unique result in the game, keyword being unique. No duplicates.

[Jeffdude]

Okay thanks, Eric and KarateF22! So, if I return a science lab, can I bring multiples of each experiment from one location? It seems that I'm able to store multiple materials studies from high over the mun in the lab, so presumably, if I land and recover, will I get science for each of them? Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, I found out. And while you can store the experiments in the lab, and return them, you don't necessarily get all the science that it says. It will read +50science when you gather the data, but when you recover it, you only get one or two copies of that biome, and the rest are +0 science. Well, I knew it seemed too good to be true that I could just keep spamming the materials moduels and getting crap tons of science!

[Eric S]

Yeah, the science you can get from any set of duplicates is capped, usually well below an extra 50% of the amount you get from the first one, though there are exceptions. The amount of science that it reports assumes that nothing gets turned in between the time you run the experiment and the time you turn it in, and if you've got duplicates, then they can't all be the first one turned in.

[Chaos_Klaus]

If you put data into your science lab, it will not be deleted from your capsule AFAIK. It will place a copy into the laband you can still return the experiment to kerbin.

[Laie]

Some experiements are one-shot: returning one temperature reading will give you all the science point you can get for "termperature in situation & biome".

Others can be repeated, but at diminishing returns. You can guess it from the length of the blue bar when you get the result. If the bar fills up the entire space available, it's a one-shot experiment. If the bar is shorter, this indicates how many of the available science points you will get.

Surface samples from Minmus' Lowlands can yield up to 200 science points, but you only get 75% of the remaining points for every sample you return.

• 1st sample: 150 points (50 remaining)
  
• 2nd sample: 37.5 points (that's 75% of the 50 points; 12.5 still remaining after the second sample)
  
• 3rd sample: 9.4 points
  
• and so on
  

The quota for repeatables typically is 75-90%. Personally, I try to get every experiment in triplicate. That's probably over the top / not justified by the cost of sending either a third pod or a lab, but I can't help it. Though these days, I only return two and leave the third with a lab.