Minmus Before Mun - Tip for new players

[Spricigo]

15 hours ago, wumpus said:

 And making a wide-body lander is going to be penalized by the new aero-model (build it wide enough to land on the Mun and watch it flip).

 

Somewhat solvable by using a wide lifter with several tailfins. .... or just heading to minmus. 

 

Anyway,  people being people,  advice is usually only asked for after a failed attempt. Since Mun appear  to be easier,  novices you shoot for it more often. 

[Kosmognome]

On 23.8.2016 at 1:11 AM, wumpus said:

But the big problem isn't "follow retrograde" (although it certainly helps) the big problem is finding a flat place to land.  And making a wide-body lander is going to be penalized by the new aero-model (build it wide enough to land on the Mun and watch it flip).

You don't need a scientist when you only land in one biome. A hopper that goes through multiple biomes is not something I would suggest for a new player, neither on minmus nor on the mun. a new player would probably try to land in one place and then return before attempting a multi-biome hopping scenario.

 

and even i don#t bring the scientist to the surface. I bring the pilot to the surface and keep the scientist on orbit to reset the experiments.

 

On 23.8.2016 at 1:17 PM, Sharpy said:

Did you do any Mun landings in 1.1.3 using landing legs recently?

Yes, in fact I did. Several, actually. Just recently in a new career with kerbalism. four small legs + terrier engine work reasonably well for a small lander.

[Sharpy]

2 minutes ago, Kosmognome said:

Yes, in fact I did. Several, actually. Just recently in a new career with kerbalism. four small legs + terrier engine work reasonably well for a small lander.

Did any kerbal touch them?

'cause the first landing on Mun, I was returning home two landing legs short, after 'collision with a kerbal'.

[Kosmognome]

I had one leg blow up after running into it, yes. But that will happen on any body, it can happen on minmus as well (I had one lander flip upside down after touching a landing gear on minmus, it was propelled several hudred meters away in the process).

[Clipperride]

Don't forget, my OP was for new players in Science Mode. So, I'd argue that getting to Minmus is only marginally more difficult as you already have all buildings fully upgraded.

With a plane change maneuvere, you can reach Minmus no matter when you lift off as you don't need to wait for it to be passing the ascending or descending nodes.

When you're new at powered landing it's tempting to start controlling your speed from much higher than a more experienced player would.  The lower Minmus gravity means less fuel on a cautious descent as well as not requiring much to get back into orbit, leave the SOI and head home.