Elcano mission report: Minmus two ways

[TheCardinal]

Minmus has fascinated me from the beginning. Reason why i became a Minmus Epxlorer. However, i've never ever circumvented Minmus until now. Time to correct that mistake.

The goal of my mission is to circumvent Minmus two times in succession. Once over the equator imediately followed by a circumvention over the poles.

To document the journey i will take screenshots every 10 degrees and leave a probe every 30 degrees. I'm using a lot of mods, mostly for esthetic reason, some for other purposes (like Historian). Mechjeb, Hyperedit and Kerbaljointsreinforcements will not be used during the land travel (mind you, i use Mechjeb to get the tractor in orbit around Minmus), i will drive the tractor every step of the way.

Currently I've traveled 150 degrees along the equator and there are some things that {AHEM} could have been done better.

For one, i absentmindedly forgot to name the tractor correctly. It's called Minmus Tractor (MK2) - test instead of Minmus Tractor (MK3). Furthermore, the probes i leave behind get marked on the map as questionmarks (I still haven't figured out why that occurs) .

First, let me present the tractor i'm using:

Seen here during a testdrive in the neighbourhood of the landingstrip.

Top speed of the craft is about 15-16 m/s and the empty weight is about 33 tons. It is equipped with eight RTG's which supply sufficient electricity for driving, even on steep hills. It is not sufficient for mining ore, converting the ore or converting the ore in required reources. The craft therefor has two aditional small generators which run on liquid fuel. The craft can hold up to 1700 units of ore and some liquid fuel, oxidizer and rcs fuel (mostly located in the middle of the craft). The craft has a low center of gravity and the four tracks provide ample stability to negociate steep hill's. Even the 25 degree incline which i've encountered sofar pose no problem at all. The crew consists of six kerbals, two pilots, two engineers and two scientist.

The craft has an ore drill on the tail, a small hydroponic garden, a 3d printer, a converter for producing fuel and a converter for rocketparts. It has four KAS containers for storing printed parts and several camera's, including a nightvision camera at the front.

Finally, some communication and science devices and a lot of lights are included.

Driving on Minmus can be dangerous. Minmus is notorious for it's slight incline changes, easily lulling a driver into a false feeling of safety. The unsuspecting driver often drives too fast and then suddenly is faced with a steep drop. His craft is launched into the sky which usually ends in several explosions when the craft crashes back to the ground (it has happened to me in the past).

Top speed should be reserved exclusively for the Minmus's seas. In hilly country the speed should be 10 m/s or (a lot) less.

Edited September 25, 2015 by TheCardinal

[TheCardinal]

The first part of my mission has been completed; the circumvention of Minmus along the equator

I couldn't have suspected the way this mission would change me. I know it sounds weird but Minmus and i have become closer to each other than ever before. I now understand that you NEED to embark on such a mission to get some understanding of a planet or a moon. Somehow, driving at a 45 degree angle upward or downward AND at the same time a 25 to 30 degree lateral angle does that to you. The voyage hasn't been without some suprises. I encountered two (temporal) rifts, one at position 0, 90 and one at position 0, 135. Apparently the omega 13 experiment (see

) has had it's effects on Minmus as well.

I've steered well clear of the rifts as the effects might have some desastrous consequences. Another surprise was the sudden end to a steep mountain. The rover was launched into the air but fortunately landed squarely on it's tracks without real damage. During the journey some defects developed. The camera's ceased to function and the 3d printer, containers and such stopped working. Bilrie Kerman was able to get things working again, although the content of the containers disappeared completely. The probes were placed at several places but were a complete failure. Those mounted on the ground exploded immediately and those dropped were broken. In the next leg i'll continue dropping probes but without much hope they will give any usefull information. No probe was dropped at 0, 270. The vertical angle (45 degrees) was much too steep. It was deemed too unsafe for Bilrie Kerman to allow him to exit the rover.

The most annoying defect which plagues the rover now is an imbalance in one of the drivetrains, possibly even both. When accelerating, the rover turns to the left. When braking the rover turns to the right. At first the deviation was small but it has become worse at the end of the first leg and so far Bilrie has been unable to rectify this situation. I have been considering ordering a replacement rover but this would be very costly and timeconsuming. Therefor the second leg will be undertaken with the same rover (even though the deviation is quite a nuisance).

Some pictures: //imgur.com/a/yTa29

Will be reporting back when the second leg has been completed (failure is not an option!)

Edited September 30, 2015 by TheCardinal

[TheCardinal]

I completely forgot to mention that the navigational computer (Historian) has been on the blink. It still indicates the correct position provided you add or subtract multiples of 360 degrees. It's more a nuisance than a problem.

[TheCardinal]

It is my sad duty to inform everybody that Bilrie Kerman has died today.

At around T +20d 05:00:00 the expedition reached the south pole. The omega 13 experiments have devastated the south pole. Several temporal and spacial anomalities come together at the pole, with bits of land sticking up or down. And everywhere you can see stars and empty space.

After arriving the tractor was parked at a small distance to the exact pole. Bilrie stepped out of the tractor and walked to the exact pole. Still at some distance he suddenly vanished in a puff of green smoke. The influence of the anomalies probably was already too large for the space-time continuem at the spot where he vanished.

The remaining Kerbals are grieving their lost friend but remained set on reaching the goal of this journey. They intended to commemorate their achievement to his memory. One of them has vowed to return to the south pole to place a permanent marker at the spot where Bilrie died.

To continue their voyage they'll have to make a 90 degree untill the anomaly disappears.

Just before they left, they all yelled: "Bilrie, you wont have died in vain".

[TheCardinal]

Bilrie didn't die in vain. The missson has just been completed.

[TheCardinal]

The second leg of the journey started fine. At first it looked easier than the equatorial route but in the end i can say that both routes have their advantages and disadvantages, The mountains have about the same angle in both routes but the largest angle i encountered was in the route over the poles, about 50-51 degrees.

Even that crazy angle proved not too difficult for the vehicle. I even parked it at the 50 degree slope and it didn't slide. At several points there were anomalies. It can be expected at the poles but i also found some at other points. During the mission i've encountered places i'd never seen before and incredible beautiful views.

At one time i almost crashed the tractor. A sudden steep drop opened up before the tracks and it was too late to brake. The tractor dropped like a brick, came down and bounced like a ball. Fortunately nothing broke and the tractor remained upright.

During the voyage, i've marked several spots i will revisit absolutely. Decending a steep hill in utter darkness with the aid of a nightvision camera is incredably exciting!

I still have to pick the marking screenshots, i will post the album asap, as well as the most beautiful screenshots i've made. (I've made more than 600 screenshots in total)

Edited October 4, 2015 by TheCardinal

[Azimech]

Yes, some screenshots would be nice :-)

[TheCardinal]

No, the craft isn't crashing. I moved slowly over the edge of the 50 degree cliff to prevent an "unwanted spontaneous dissassembly". It balanced a short time, then the nose dropped down and landed on the incline. It did bounce three times though.

I've selected the screenshots, i'd like to share.

First the 'proof'-album of the second leg

http://imgur.com/a/IdVo3

And an album with screenshots of special places, anormalities or just beautiful i.m.o.

http://imgur.com/a/9CgET

Edited October 5, 2015 by TheCardinal