Elcano Challenge: MDZhB Style (On the Mun!)(Stock)

[MDZhB]

Elcano Challenge:　Ｍ Ｄ Ｚｈ Ｂ　Style

I have decided to take on the prestigious Elcano Challenge because I suck at interplanetary not because it is easy, but because it is hard. I will accomplish this task on a hostile, airless, colorless rock that is speeding through space at close proximity to Kerbin. You may have heard of it: the one, the only, the Mun! I will complete this challenge by taking a polar route, using the newly designed Mun Weh 4. It can travel at a maximum speed of 65 m/s, giving a rough total of about 10 hours total drive time, including detours, obstacle negotiation, and snack breaks. Of course, it will probably be much more, but oh well. Without further ado - and useless words - I give you my attempt at the Elcano Challenge, Mun Edition:

---

Launch of Mun Weh 4!

Ircia: "Whoa, mission control, we've got some fastness here. Considering abort."

Mission control: "No Ircia that's okay that's normal don't abort"

Some boring engine burns later...

Ircia: "Mission control, the railguns are loaded. No aliens detected yet, but I'll be ready. Oh, I'll be ready.."

Mission control: "Ircia where did you get railguns put them away no there are no aliens you're just driving please Ircia."

Safe and sound! (Well, considering she's on an airless rock being bombarded with radiation and loneliness...)

Detached from the lander.

Ircia is getting used to the low gravity by stomping fiercely on the dust. Don't worry, she's a professional.

Setting our start point. We'll be seeing this again Soon^TM.

And we're off! Starting with a relatively low speed, we've set cruise control for cool.

Ircia: "Mission control, I'm pretty high."

Mission control: "You're supposed to be high Ircia we went over this."

How'd point 1 get there? We'll never know, because someone forgot to photograph it.

This is pretty much the maximum speed for the Weh 4, and that's a good thing. Notice how the panels are being pulled apart. I'm actually spinning stupid fast, but you can't see that in a screenshot. Maybe I'll make a video, if I can get OBS to work...

Again, stupid fast spinning, being literally pulled apart. It's all good though.

We reminded her to take pictures of herself this time with our patented invisible selfie stick.

Ircia: "Mission control, ALIENS ARE ATTACKING, I repeat, ALIENS ARE ATTACKING!"

Mission control: You broke it Ircia didn't you why Ircia how could you"

Ircia inspects the damage for any damage.

Right after this, we lost two more panels, and maybe one more pylon. That makes 5 missing panels and one (maybe two) missing pylon. We're done for now.

Our progess so far, about 55km or so. Pretty good for a giant wheel.

Just so you know, Ircia is 100% intact (okay, maybe about 32%. Close enough.)

---

Anyway, that's what I've done for now. Losing one panel is nothing, but five panels and a support pylon causes it to bounce a little too much. Mun Weh 5 is currently under construction and will be delivered Soon^TM (Again). There's not much I can improve except being more careful. I do intend on completing this challenge though, no matter how many replacements it takes.

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Love letters? Protests? Declarations of war?

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by MDZhB

[Maverick_aus]

Great start to the mission! Very exciting. I like your narrative style. There's some good funny moments in there. And also I think you've done well with the screenshot selection. That can be tough to decide what to leave in or out. 
 

[MDZhB]

So, to continue the mission, two things must be done. First, a replacement Weh must be sent. I'm considering naming it the Rei Weh just because I can.

Second, as per the advice of allied space programs (thanks @The_Rocketeer for the tip!) I need to explore the northern pole of the Mun, to see if it is possible to navigate it via Weh. Thus, an unmanned Weh 2 model, dubbed the Weh 2.22, has been launched and is headed for the north pole!

If it is navigable, yay! Otherwise, it may be necessary to start anew somewhere else. The Weh 2.22 will decide where the Rei Weh will land, and wheter Ircia will be able to complete the mission. Graphics follow:

---

Launch of Weh 2.22 is a go!

A little witchcraft later...

I am a master at witchcraft. I can witch anything into any orbit, no matter how witch-y

This is about where we're landing. It doesn't look so ba-

Oh

Okay, so we landed, but I detached the Weh 2.22 early, just in case.

I think that it can handle this. After all, it goes the fastest up hills. (This is because it bounces as it goes, and whenever it actually touches the ground, it speeds up. Going up hill means it touches the ground more often, so it speeds up easier.) Anyway, It's going pretty well so far.

Nevermind. I've set a personal record for the most damage inflicted on a Weh on the Mun.

Good news and bad news. Good news is, I broke my old record. Bad news, well...

R.I.P. in peace my friend.

Anyway, just to recap, this is what I'd have to deal with, if I were to go polar.

---

So, that's done. The Weh 2.22 has been reduced to only half the panels, battery power, generators, and torque. In short, it's dead. There is no way in kraken that I am sending a kerbal into this space-hell. Looks like I'm going east-west now.

By the way, the reason the Weh 2.22 got into trouble was because it was actually spinning too fast. It had tipped over just a little too much, so it didn't have enough traction to keep going up hill. However, when it did hit the ground, it was spinning so fast at such an angle, that a whole lot of panels were destroyed. Eventually, it stopped and started going downhill, at which point I found out that it makes a decent sled. However, it hit the wrong way and tipped over, and the unprotected Fancy Bits© got ground into munar dust,

Well, now that I know I don't need to continue going polar, that means I don't have to bother with a precision landing to get near Ircia. Sorry, Ircia, but you're not circumnavigating the Mun. Not today. Not ever.

Edited August 5, 2016 by MDZhB

[The_Rocketeer]

Glad u took advice

Y'know, tho, the MunarNorth Pole would be so awesome with a BMX

Edited August 5, 2016 by The_Rocketeer

[MDZhB]

I want to see a planet that is nothing but that kind of terrain. It would be a challenge enough to create something that land on it, much less drive.

I'd be afraid of launching myself into orbit with a BMX, though.

[The_Rocketeer]

29 minutes ago, MDZhB said:

I want to see a planet that is nothing but that kind of terrain.

Planet Golph?

[Geschosskopf]

On 8/4/2016 at 7:12 PM, MDZhB said:

Anyway, that's what I've done for now. Losing one panel is nothing, but five panels and a support pylon causes it to bounce a little too much. Mun Weh 5 is currently under construction and will be delivered Soon^TM (Again).

LOL, this is great.  Being an inveterate tinkerer with Panjandrums (I've depleted entire penal battalions regiments that way). I love your design.  Good luck

 

[Guest]

19 hours ago, MDZhB said:

I want to see a planet that is nothing but that kind of terrain. It would be a challenge enough to create something that land on it, much less drive.

I'd be afraid of launching myself into orbit with a BMX, though.

Pol? It's not quite as drastic, but it's close, and the lower gravity makes it more dangerous to navigate by land, at least for the kind of vehicle you're using... I think.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Guest

[MDZhB]

1 hour ago, String Witch said:

lower gravity makes it more dangerous to navigate by land, at least for the kind of vehicle you're using... I think.

It probably wouldn't make it more dangerous, but it would most likely render it pretty ineffective. I think the Mun has the perfect level of gravity. Not too much to slow it down, like on Kerbin, but enough to let it accelerate. As noted above (somewhere) it spends most of the time doing shallow arcs a few inches over the ground on the Mun, so it only accelerates when it hits it. Lower gravity means it hits less often and bounces higher, so it would accelerate much slower.

I'm working on the next installment by the way. I'm considering maybe trying to skirt around the pole, rather than totally start over. Either way, I'm going to lose a certain amount of progress, but it may be better to keep going north. Ircia, you still have a chance to make history.

[MDZhB]

Finally, I stopped being lazy and playing around with mini planes. I'm going to go ahead and start over, equatorial like. Today, I present to you the story thus far of the Rei Weh, a Weh 4 model designed to replace the old Mun Weh 4. This time, Kelrey Kerman, famous space plane pilot and well known lunatic political activist shall be piloting her, in the next installment of this epic challenge.

---

Liftoff of the Rei Weh has occurred at like, 10:30 or something.

Kelrey: "Listen, I love space and all, but we need to stop oppressing south-polar bears. We're all bears. Even me."

Mission control: "Kelrey no this isn't- you know what? I don't even care any more."

Kelrey: "If we could cut down on submarine spending, we could focus on halting this rampant spread of magic gender changing pools, and robot-cream diplomatic relations, and a new box for-"

Mission control: "Kelrey shut up and do your job,"

Kelrey: "Oh oh right, preparing for booster sep."

NOPE NOPE NOPE

So, Kelrey maaaaay have pressed spacebar a tad too early. I guess we'll see how well a Mun lander does on Kerbin,

I can hear the funeral bells now.

Mission control: "We have lost contact with Kelrey Kerman. We are assuming the worst."

Kelrey: "I'm right here! I'm alive!"

Mission control: "Yes, he's definitely gone."

---

So that failed. Rei Weh is currently having all of it's programming transferred to an exact copy, though we might lose some contents of temporary memory. No biggie though. Kelrey has been grounded indefinitely, though he insists that it was the "New Kerbin Order." I'm going to go ahead with an equatorial plan, but right now I'm going for a walk, IRL. Expect another update today though.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE EXTREME ELIMINATION- I mean, ah, extreme exploration.

Edited August 8, 2016 by MDZhB

[Just Jim]

 

Quote

There is no way in kraken that I am sending a kerbal into this space-hell. Looks like I'm going east-west now.

I tried doing the Mun's north pole in a heavy rover a few weeks ago, but I had to stop at about 80km short of the pole for the exact same reason!  It's dark, creepy, and the terrain is nearly impossible to drive over.  And the south pole isn't much better...   Blechhhh  

[MDZhB]

Weh desu! Real Life caught up with me, and I couldn't do anything until today. I didn't even get to take my walk! Anyway, I'm back at it again with the- uh, nevermind. Rei Weh has been successfully repaired, and I sent it aloft to restart this ridiculous comedy of seriously life threatening errors. Now, I hand over this post to the traditional long list of images:

---

Rei Weh launches again for a second try. Guess who's on board? It's none other than Patald Kerman, inventor of The Best Thing Since Sliced Meatloaf.

Patald: "Alright mission control, everything is A-OK. I'm reading a speed of 831.6 m/s. Heating is nominal."

Mission control: "Y- you mean you're... normal!?"

"I didn't quite catch that mission control, say again?"

A little while later, and a an intercept is successfully acquired.

"Mission control, I've got a nice view of Kerbin here. Will transmit."

"Roger, Patald. This is so cool!"

Neural linkage norm- I mean, uh, orbit established! Yay!

It was a slightly bumpy landing, Patald isn't the most experienced Kerbal in the Corps.

Rei Weh is on the ground, and Patald sets the REAL start point this time. Time to go!

Our first big jump came pretty quickly, seeing as I landed in a crater, and Patald managed to capture this amazing shot with Rei Weh, the Mun, Kerbin, and the Sun all in the scene.

Pretty smooth driving. I don't want to risk anything... yet.

"THERE WAS A CRATER!?" This was my reaction when I was suddenly 500m above the ground.

Speeding up a bit. I didn't reach the top speed on this leg, but I got up to about 55m/s at one point, which is pretty nice.

Patald successfully parks the Rei Weh on the Munar surface. This is its safest resting position.

Picture speaks for itself. But no, I don't have that much left to go. I just feel like I do.

"Mission control, I feel pretty good. We're gonna do fine..."

---

That's it for this installment in the greatest saga of all time! The next updates will probably come over the weekend, when I actually have time. I expect to complete at least 10 checkpoints then, so stay tuned! You can also hear our daily broadcasts on 11.975 MHz, or, if you prefer, 4625 KHz! Until the next great adventure, comrades.

Edited August 12, 2016 by MDZhB

[Just Jim]

Love the flag!!! 

[MDZhB]

Welcome back for another entry into the ever lengthening account of my fantabulous voyage across the harsh Munar surface! It's different writing this introduction, because I usually write it before I get started. This time, though, I already know what happens. So, with nothing better to say, here's the images:

---

We're off again at somewhat of an angle. Fun fact: though we refer to it as the Rei Weh, its official title is the "Kerbin Imperial Space Force Second Generation Interplanetary Cruise Ultimate Vehicle Weh Machine 6"

You can see why we chose a nickname, no?

There is some surprisingly nice scenery out here (for a lifeless grey rock, that is).

Fun Fact 2: though we refer to it as "SAS", the real name for the Weh's propulsion system is the "Dimensional Wave Super Rotational Reaction Degradative Radius Jump Gravitational Field Super Light Speed Navigation System".

An image of our progress so far. Not doing too shabby, eh?

Wheeeeee! Ooh, lookey there! A crater inside a crater! Science! How cool!

This is a nice image of the Rei Weh's shoddily assembled precisely straddled wheel panels. We have a name for these too, but it's Secret Squirrel Level 7, so I can't share it with you.

I thought this was a nice shot of the RTG's (That stands for Realitivistic Time-dilation Generators, by the way.) At this point in the journey, top speeds were anywhere from 30 to 50 m/s, so I was cruising smooth.

Patald: "Mission control, I'm stopping to set the next checkpoint."

"Roger, Patald. Say, can I ask you a question?"

"What's that, mission control?"

"Will- will you go out with me?"

(There is no recorded data in the transcript file after this)

After the checkpoint was set, Patald set off again. He seemed, well, both cheerful and also incredibly off-put.

I saw this crater coming this time!

"Mission control, I can't slow down!"

After some suspiciously loud bangs heard over the open mic, Patald brought the Rei Weh to a full stop.

He exited the craft.

"Mission control, I think the Rei Weh is done. We have major damage to about half the panels. I can't continue this way."

"Roger Patald, we'll have another one heading your way soon enough. Just hang tight."

Luckily, the Weh was brought to a stop almost 20km from the last checkpoint, so Patald set down checkpoint three.

Nothing can stop Patald, Not even serious technical failures!

---

So, this is the end of the Journey for the Rei Weh. Another must be sent up, and I will have to find out if I can even land things precisely. I hope so. Anyway, with almost 63 km down, The Rei Weh did a good job. I need to work on figuring out how to make these things more sturdy. I'm thinking that I will redesign the whole thing, with better balance and more well aligned panels. Also, I hope that someone is getting these in-jokes and references I'm adding, or else some of this is going to seem really weird. Anyway, until next time, congratulations I wish you safe space travel!

[damerell]

It's an ingenious device, but it seems a little, uh, fragile. :-/

[Claw]

Man. The Mun is rough for a thing like that too. Maybe some moar struts (to distribute the impact) and/or some ablative cubic struts would help.

I'm getting dizzy just looking at the pictures.

[MDZhB]

On 2016/8/15 at 10:35 AM, damerell said:

It's an ingenious device, but it seems a little, uh, fragile. :-/

It's actually not, really. I've sent it up to heights that would tank anything else, and it just bounces. To break it, you have to be going fast and high. If I can avoid that, than I can go much farther. Really, it's driver error.

6 hours ago, Claw said:

Maybe some moar struts (to distribute the impact) and/or some ablative cubic struts would help.

I was thinking more along the lines of balance, but after reading this I realized it has zero struts, and struts would probably help greatly.