Eve for the science!

[Foxster]

I've been building Eve lander/lifters for some time - but without really doing anything constructive with them. It was more just for the challenge of building the ships.

Time for a change!

I'm undertaking a proper Eve mission with the aim of exploring and collecting science in at least four different biomes. The aim is to really suck this planet dry of knowledge. So that means setting up a permanent MPL base, processing and transmitting science AND returning all that juicy science goodness to Kerbin.

So far I used my usual Kerbin heavy lifter and nuke tug to get the science payload into Eve orbit. Landing was the usual tense time of seeing if anything would melt. But we are down in one piece...

Now the interesting bit starts. I have found a nice little spot at the junction of four land biomes, with the sea nearby. So I should be able to get science from at least the land biomes and we'll have to see if I can get some from the sea too.

Luya Kermin has got the ball rolling already by collecting science at the landing site in the Eve's Peaks biome. She collected the reports and dropped them off at the MPL, where the first few have been processed and research has started on them for the generation of science. They will wait there, along with the rest she collects, for later return to Kerbin.

So, off to the next biome...

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Update 1:

After a 5 minutes drive we are at our first science stop: Eve's Highlands. Luya has done her work well here...

Ever onwards...

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Update 2:

I've come to realise there is another biome here. As well as the red, blue, green and turquoise biomes in the picture above, there is also a yellow area, which is where I landed. I thought the yellow was just a map glitch, but no. So my mission has now expanded to five ground biomes!

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Update 3:

Doing A-OK. Just a little more driving and we are at Eve's Impact Ejecta...

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Update 4:

Not much farther and we are at Eve's Midlands biome...

But now we are off to explore the shore to see if we can collect science from the sea. Wish us luck!

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Update 5:

Some great luck. We are in the Explodium Sea biome but still on land! More gooey science for the win....

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Update 6:

It's rather weird driving on Eve. There are odd pockets of very steep slopes that aren't visible but do slow you down. Also, everywhere seems to be in constant flux, with tectonic activity always present, causing constant shaking.

Still, we only have one more stop at the Lowlands to make and we can get off this crazy rock!

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Update 7:

Just 4km further and we are at our final science stop for this trip: Eve's Lowlands...

I have motored around a few planets and have to say this has been the easiest because of finding all these biomes within a few km of each other.

Now back to the spacecraft to hand in our results.

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Update 8:

And we are back...

Now to upload the science and decide what we are going to do with it.

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Update 9:

The science is all now in the MPL...

Some of the experiment results were used to create data and that is being slowly converted to science for eventual transmission.

Now the question is: What about the rest?

I can leave this craft here for a long time and as the data gets used up I can process more results. But that's going to take ages. I really want to get this science back to Kerbin for maximum return, but if I do that it won't be available here for the MPL.

Umm, I'll have to think about this.

By the way, here is the location of this area in case anyone else wants to have a wander about it. It's Northwest of the Finger Holes...

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Update 10:

Dang! I knew this mission had gone too well.

The solar panels for the MPL are on top of it and are completely blocked by the orbital return craft. This means the MPL does not have enough power to process the data as long as the return craft is on top.

Looks like that settles things. I will leave ~500 data in the MPL and take the rest back to orbit, collecting it soon with a recovery mission.

So, time to get the data into the top capsule and point it at the stars!

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Update 11:

We are off!...

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Update 12:

Going well so far...

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Update 13:

Onward and upward...

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Update 14:

Not much left of the craft for the last leg...

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Update 15:

Made it to orbit with 478m/s to spare!

Things are looking well now for the power back at Eve Base...

Now to plan the science data in orbit recovery mission...

Edited August 20, 2015 by Foxster

[Starhawk]

That's one sweet mission!

I started on an Eve lander when 1.0 dropped. After the changes in .0.1/2 and .0.3/4, I decided to wait until things settled before thinking about it again.

I look forward to seeing more of this mission.

Happy landings!

[Mister Dilsby]

Outstanding, Foxster! Studying your lander for no apparent reason...

[fourfa]

Thanks for the link here in my Eve thread! It's shocking how the ascent rocket scales up just from hauling 2 kerbals back to orbit, something like 8X this size.

[nsgallup]

Kudos on a Eve return mission

[xendelaar]

Very nice report. I reall ylike your design. It makes me want to plan a science mission there as well.