Mission ideas anyone?

[SmashingKirby148]

First, sorry if a thread like this was created before and if it's in the wrong place.

As stated on my channel, FrozenKerbal148, I am gonna be starting a series soon. But until then, I need ideas on what to do in the mean time. For example, I uploaded my Apollo 11 recreation a few days ago. What mission (original or based off real life) should I do next? Nothing to hardcore like Eve / Tylo landing + return. Also, no planes either, because I can't build planes or fly them.

You can use this form if you want to make things easier for me or other people to see. Because maybe other people could also come here to get ideas.

Planet(s):

Real Life based?:

[state Mission] {for example, Apollo 11}

Original?:

[state Idea] {for example, base or landing + return}

[legoclone09]

Do a single-launch Jool-5. I will allow Stock Fuel Switch and SpaceY and SpaceY+.

[SmashingKirby148]

Do a single-launch Jool-5. I will allow Stock Fuel Switch and SpaceY and SpaceY+.

Ummm, not to sound rude but I said that I won't be doing a Tylo landing. Although, your suggestion has inspired me to go to another Joolian moon, so thanks none the less.

[The_Rocketeer]

Do a triple flyby and return: Kerbin -> Eve -> Duna -> Dres -> Kerbin. Bonus points for catching Ike/Gilly flybys too

[Snark]

Land on Moho and return. There's some serious delta-vee there. You basically have two choices in your ship design:

1. Do the round trip without mining. This is hard, because you need a metric crapload of delta-vee, so you need a great big ship.

2. Do the round trip with mining. This is hard, because it means your lander has to be a lot more massive, so you need a great big ship.

Another fun one: Do a complete Duna/Ike tour in one round-trip. That is, go to the Duna/Ike system, and gather science from every biome on both worlds. Makes for an interesting challenge in mission design, since you'll likely need to have a resource miner and will have to figure out how to factor that. Also, lander requirements for Duna and Ike are quite different, so that's another challenge.

[SmashingKirby148]

Do a triple flyby and return: Kerbin -> Eve -> Duna -> Dres -> Kerbin. Bonus points for catching Ike/Gilly flybys too

That sounds really hard to pull off, but I'll keep note of it anyway.

- - - Updated - - -

Land on Moho and return. There's some serious delta-vee there. You basically have two choices in your ship design:

1. Do the round trip without mining. This is hard, because you need a metric crapload of delta-vee, so you need a great big ship.

2. Do the round trip with mining. This is hard, because it means your lander has to be a lot more massive, so you need a great big ship.

Another fun one: Do a complete Duna/Ike tour in one round-trip. That is, go to the Duna/Ike system, and gather science from every biome on both worlds. Makes for an interesting challenge in mission design, since you'll likely need to have a resource miner and will have to figure out how to factor that. Also, lander requirements for Duna and Ike are quite different, so that's another challenge.

Oh boy, these are interesting! Also, I've never been to Moho! Thank you for your suggestion.

[peachoftree]

Build an ISRU station + base combo on duna

[Snark]

Do a triple flyby and return: Kerbin -> Eve -> Duna -> Dres -> Kerbin. Bonus points for catching Ike/Gilly flybys too

That sounds really hard to pull off, but I'll keep note of it anyway.

The nice thing about these various proposed challenges is that they're challenging in different ways (KSP has so much depth to it... it's one of the things that make it such a great game).

For example, the Rocketeer's suggestion is a great challenge-- but unlike Moho (which is an engineering challenge), it's more of a piloting challenge. Doing flybys of multiple planets is actually not much of an engineering problem, since it doesn't require a bunch of dV. If you just fly by a planet, it doesn't require any dV to stop or to escape, you just go charging right through.

If you do it right (and right there is the loaded term!), you can do a multiple flyby like that without needing a lot of dV, which means a fairly simple craft can do it.

But it will take a lot of finesse and planning-- you really need to know your orbital mechanics (or, at least, you'll learn a lot about them if you do!), and make appropriate use of gravity slingshots, Oberth effect, and such.

Whereas going to Moho isn't super sophisticated in terms of piloting. It's just a brutal dV load. Takes a stupidly large chunk of dV to get there, then another big chunk to capture to orbit. Then a lot of dV to get down to the surface and back (since it's a lot heavier than the Mun), and no aerobraking anywhere to help you. Then lots of dV to eject back to Kerbin. (And a significant orbital inclination difference, to boot.)

[SmashingKirby148]

Build an ISRU station + base combo on duna

Great suggestion! Thank you!

[The_Rocketeer]

Put a station in an orbit like this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2777750/Meet-Earth-s-new-moon-Peculiar-path-asteroid-2014-OL339-makes-look-like-s-orbiting-planet.html

So it seems like it orbits Kerbin but actually orbits Kerbol.

To do this:

• periapsis = Kerbin's orbital altitude minus x km
• apoapsis = Kerbin's orbital altitude plus x km
• orbital period = Kerbin's orbital period

It's not particularly useful, but it's an interesting alternative to a high Kerbin orbit or a leading/trailing Kerbol orbit.

[legoclone09]

Ummm, not to sound rude but I said that I won't be doing a Tylo landing. Although, your suggestion has inspired me to go to another Joolian moon, so thanks none the less.

Yeah, Tylo is a hellhole. I don't like it and I haven't ever been there!

[cantab]

Also, no planes either, because I can't build planes or fly them.

Well why not start? Just a simple regular plane, fly it round the space centre, maybe take it out to the island, nothing fancy.

[Vanamonde]

Since this is not a how-to kind of a question, the thread has been moved to General Discussions.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Yeah, Tylo is a hellhole. I don't like it and I haven't ever been there!

Bah!

Tylo is just Kerbin without an atmosphere or Water

My pick would be colonizing Laythe. Always a fun and challenging Mission

[G'th]

I'd say load up OPM and go explore the outer planets. OPM should basically be stock anyway so it'd definitely be interesting.

[Bev7787]

Do a new horizons style mission or alternatively, Viking 1

[DunaRocketeer]

Build an ISRU station + base combo on duna

This. Create a colony that can support exploration of the outer planets.

[Melonfish]

I've recently "Landed" a probe on Duna along with a remote rover which was a lot of fun tbh.

My plan is to land a remote control ISRU with an attached Ascent unit, the ISRU will mine and manufacture the fuel required for the DAV.

Meanwhile i'll pull a crew of 6 kerbals on an interplanetary tug with a Duna Landing Vehicle and have them land at the site, perform lots of science then take the DAV back to the tug and back home.

And yes i'm on my third read through of The Martian, haven't seen the film yet but plan to. I may yet change the DAV to be a separate vehicle and transfer resources (KAS) from the ISRU so i can fit a full suite of science pods on it.

[Dafni]

I am working on replicating this, from the launch to the landing:

NASA's Curiosity! it's a sky-crane assisted rover landing.

I bet it has been done many many times already, still very rewarding experience so far

[Terwin]

Another fun one: Do a complete Duna/Ike tour in one round-trip. That is, go to the Duna/Ike system, and gather science from every biome on both worlds. Makes for an interesting challenge in mission design, since you'll likely need to have a resource miner and will have to figure out how to factor that. Also, lander requirements for Duna and Ike are quite different, so that's another challenge.

I almost did this(there was one Duna biome that I could not find without scanning the planet first, as it turns out it is at the boundary between Lowlands and Ice caps).

All I had to do was design the lander to be able to take off from Duna without using aerodynamic lift and Ike was trivial. (I had ISRU, so plenty of fuel to waste flying around Duna without aerodynamic lift)

Admittedly I was using the Atomic Age nuclear lightbulb engine(1500 ISP), I expect it to be harder this time around as I am not using Near Future or Atomic age engines.

(on the plus side, UKS should let me build hoppers on-site once I have a colony established)

[Findthepin1]

Jool rover or Kerbol rover, you choose.

seriously try a gilly mission with kerbals, was my first manned interplanetary mission.

[Majorjim!]

I'm with a Duna/Ike double mission. Or an EVE return.

Or a Laythe mission with aqua craft.

[SmashingKirby148]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

[michaelhester07]

Build a solar research station within 1 Million km of the sun complete with sun shield.