1310 Science from Duna probe

[Vanamonde]

So I built this silly-looking thing and flew it to Duna.

It took goo pod and mat bay readings high above, near, and upper atmosphere of Duna, then ejected the now-useless pod/bay combos.

Then aerobraked.

Along the way, it took grav, pressure, and temp readings high above, near, and upper atmo of Duna. Once orbit had been achieved, the two sections separated.

The satellite assumed an elliptical polar orbit,

where it has and continues to send grav readings as it passes both high above and near various biomes. The lander parachuted to the surface.

Along the way it took grav, pressure, temp, goo pod, and gas analysis readings. And once landed, it took grav, pressure, temp, seismic, and material bay readings. The only two scans the mission missed were goo pod on surface (because I goofed and only put 1 pod on it), and mat bay in atmo, because that would have made the ship heavier. Total science 1310, at a mission cost of $102,050.

[Mister Dilsby]

Wow. Yeah, with multiple biomes in high-value locations and the MPL, science is pretty cheap these days... though I wouldn't want to have to REALLY work to unlock all the parts. Very interesting demonstration--thanks!

[katateochi]

Awesome, that's a very good science to launch cost ratio.

Did you leave your solar panels extended during the descent? (or where they the un-retractable ones, couldn't tell). I lost mine during a Duna landing because I forgot about the change to the OX type panels, oops!

[Vanamonde]

I found Duna's new atmosphere to be shockingly easy. I used to use 12,500m as my standard aerocapture altitude, but had to use trial-and-error attempts to get this mission to achieve orbit at a passing altitude of 30,000m! The solar panels were not damaged during the surface probe's descent despite being left deployed, and the chutes were more than enough to bring it to a safe descent speed, which would not have worked in the pre-1.0 Duna atmosphere.

[Mister Dilsby]

Yeah, Duna is really great now though controlled winged flight can still be squirrelly with a 55t ship... my aerocapture was 24km, no problems, never even saw a heat effect.