Moho

[Adm010]

Hi everyone,

broadly speaking ive got to (not nessesarily back from) most of the planatary bodies but Moho eludes me.

any words of wisdom / designs i should try?

is this a case of needing to build something in orbit first?

thanks

alex Edited November 22, 2015 by Adm010

[Yukon0009]

You don't always need to build in orbit. A few tips:
-Give it more dV. 10k dV is pretty good.
-Design as light as possible. Avoid having too many useless bits and bobs on your ship.

[More Boosters]

Or be a math wizard and get an ejection burn that gives you both the correct inclination and the velocity to reach Moho for about 5k Dv total I think.

[Gaarst]

No need to build a craft in orbit first, you can land on Moho and get back to Kerbin with a reasonable rocket (mine was ~700t at launch).

If you're conscious that Moho is a dV black hole then there shouldn't be any major problem going there. I'd suggest trying to orbit a probe there to get an idea of how much dV you need.
Also know that due to its orbital inclination, the dV required for going to Moho can change drastically from one launch window to another. But I think transfer window calculators take that into account, so if you use one it should be OK.
Having some spare dV for Moho is usually a good idea, even with a good launch window. This is valid for any destination, but the actual dV used for Moho is unpredictable.

Oh, and nukes worked fine at Moho in 1.0.4, even without radiators, so there shouldn't be any major issue with them in 1.0.5.

Again: if you're prepared, then going to Moho isn't that bad. Edited November 22, 2015 by Gaarst

[Foxster]

+1 on the weight tip. Don't take the low-rated science experiments, don't bother with RCS, take the lightest capsule and remove it's monopropellant, etc.

[cantab]

Consider ion engines. Plentiful solar power and it's easy to get TONS of delta-V. My first and only Moho trip used ion engines and was a resounding success.

[Adm010]

Thanks guys, some useful advice - will give it another try (once mechjeb is up and tunning again!). Ill have to give the ion engine a try. The only issue i have with the nuk is the slow burn so you end up the other side of kerbin although no so bad in high orbit.

Just managed my 1st Gilly landing - the lack of gravity made it a tiny encounter window and landing tricky in a whole new way.

[Tank Buddy]

In terms of the transfer, I found it easiest to leave Kerbin at either the Ascending or Descending node of Moho's orbit, lowering solar PE to Moho's orbit, then performing a retroburn at PE, creating an encounter on the next orbit. This way you don't really have to worry about inclination preventing an encounter. On the flip side, this probably would sacrifice DV for simplicity since you have to cancel out your inclination at the Moho encounter (traveling fast). You could perform an inclination change at your ejection burn.

Also, if you want to use ion engines for your ejection burn, launch your spacecraft into a retrograde orbit around Kerbin. This way you will be on the daylight side for your transfer burn.

[Pecan]

[quote name='Adm010']..any words of wisdom...[/QUOTE]

i) How about the very recent and current "I am never going back to Moho" thread?
ii) Read, experiment, calculate (or before experimenting if you're cautious), improve
iii) Achieve

[sdrevik]

My approach is more straightforward: Build a pod with the science and such you want to take down as a lander, with 4 nukes and all Mk1 liquid fuel pods. Put docking port in front.

Launch it into orbit. Build another ship with same docking ring and lots of extra liquid fuel. Fly it into orbit, have your lander go to the edge of kerbin space, then have your tanker refuel it for the transfer and insertion.

Build an even bigger tanker to carry more liquid fuel to Moho. Fly it there, meet up with your lander, and refuel again (after landing and takeoff, if you have enough fuel- don't carry extra fuel down and back up... you should come up to Moho orbit running on fumes).

Make sure you have enough dV to stop when you get to Kerbin- you will be coming in hot.