List of questions for a modded circumvigation of the Mun via rover.

[nascarlaser1]

Hi guys!

I am finally (after many times of rage quiting/putting it to the side to do other kerbal stuff) and going to do a circumvigation of the Mun from start to finish, no matter how long/how many rovers it takes. I have a few questions:

1. What is your recommended path for a newcomer? Should I do a polar path (moving north all the way around) or a path around the equator?

2. Best rover desiegns for this type of challenge? I've learned that different rover challenges require slightly different designs (science gathering missions require basic rovers with lots of science, ect). What do you think would be the best deisgn for this?

3. Should I build a basic base on the Mun first, and then launch my rover, or just launch the rover?

 

 

Mods that will be used (for now, list may change as I get closer to doing it. Any and all suggestions are welcome and encouraged, seeing as to this is my first time).

KER

USI LS modified slightly (I've changed the  stock converter to also let me make fertilizer, since I don't plan on using mks but I don't want to constantly be launching new resupply missions all the time since I am horrible at precision landings).

Hanger for landing the rover, since making a rocket to deliver a rover is difficult for me.

KIS/KAS

Dang it to make it more suspenseful/exciting then just staring at a screen waiting to hit a crater .

stockalike mining expansion for the inline drill part.

I will update this as I get closer to completion, I will most likely make a mission report (once I get better at making cool screenshots while not crashing my rover )

 

Thank you!

 

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by nascarlaser1
added new mod to list

[Spricigo]

Two words:

Low

Wide

[bewing]

An additional word:

Big.

 

[Spricigo]

Ok some words more:

You may take a look in the Elcano Challenge for some ideas. The 'default' challenge is the circumnavigation of Kerbin, but people often went around other celestial bodies too.

I suggest Waypoint Manager to help with the routing and Kaptain's Log for logging . If landing the rover is difficult for you consider to build it in situ with Ground Construction ot ExtraPlanetary Launchpads (KIS/KAS if you dont mind building without editor tools) There are a few other mods I suppose may help but I don't have enough experience to tell for sure.

The main concern with the rover itself is stability. A wide base and low center of mass makes it less likely to be flpped by the interactions with the ground; mass helps to keep* velocity (speed and direction of movement); Moment of Inertia helps to keep* angular speed. Probecore(or pilot) with good SAS and strong reaction wheels are useful, as is an engineer able to fix wheels(or doing repairs with KIS/KAS) on board. Up to you if that will also be a science gathering mission, in that case you will cross many biomes (bring a scientist).

I see no practical reason to build a base (except if you use to build the rover). But it may help to make the backstory interesting.

*Either keep moving if you are already moving (e.g. hill climbing) or avoid moving if you didn't started to move yet (keep orientation)

[FleshJeb]

I haven't done any post-v1.0 roving, but here are my tips:

• Long-distance roving is the most brutal and demanding operating environment in the game. Your design should reflect this.
• Mun Route: Definitely not polar. The terrain at the poles is brutal.
• Wide and low are good, LONG is better. You don't want to go tumbling every time you hit the brakes.
• Strong structural chassis to attach wheels to.
• Roll cage out of structural parts.
• Soft parts go in the cage. Nothing that's not a wheel, chassis, or rollcage should be able to touch the ground in any orientation.
  • I make front and rear bumpers out of structural parts. Tumbling at high speed tears off wheels; I make the bumpers eat it first..
• Redundant parts. You WILL rip off cage parts and wheels. Your rover is an onion; the ground is a cheese grater. My standard rover has 12 wheels, and I lost half of them doing 500km on Duna. My newer "Baja model" has only 8, but less than half the ground pressure.
  • Prioritize your part placement from most to least vulnerable. Assume your roll cage disintegrates during your trip. What hits the ground next? Will it survive? How critical is it?
  • Anything less than 6 wheels is foolish.
• Even moderate impacts tend to spaghettify Kerbals in open seats. I don't use open seats.
• Use the fat-tired offroad wheels. Everything else is garbage. (Pre 1.0 wheels)
• I like about 4kN of reaction wheels per ton of rover. That will fix most rollovers if you've designed your rollcage right.
• I like to have no more than two tons of rover per wheel. One wheel per ton is even better. (Pre 1.0 wheels)
• If you want to make any time at all, you ARE going to fly off some jumps. Put some downward-facing Vernor RCS blocks on it to slow your falls.
  • Land parallel to the surface to minimize the impact on any one wheel.
  • Try not to impact at over 10 m/s downward velocity. (Pre 1.0 wheels.)
  • 1/3 of your rover's mass should be fuel for RCS.
• The best time to repair tires is when you're safely stopped. The second best time is in mid-air, while hanging off a ladder. Learn to be very fast. Landing on blown tires can result in LONG tumbling crashes. (My record is 3 or 4 km)
• Do extensive testing. If it can't reliably survive a full-throttle jump off the launchpad, it won't make 10km anywhere else. There's also some good steep terrain a few km SW of the KSC. I usually do at least 100km of challenging terrain on Kerbin before I send mine to other worlds.
  • You will discover maximum survivable speeds for various difficulties of terrain. I try to define this as a speed you can go and only crash every 5km. Any more frequent and you will get very frustrated.
  • Your max speed on the Mun will be about 1/2 the above.
• Quicksave often. I like to only quickload if the crash is mission-ending.
• Personal preference: I make MechJeb Rover Autopilot do all my driving for me, and it's still hard.
  • Turn on Stability Control.
  • Route/Waypoint choice is critical.
  • Max speed for that segment is critical. If you're going to let it drive unattended, set the speed to half or less of what you otherwise would for that segmant.
  • If you're actively paying attention, have one finger over R (RCS toggle) and the other over K (RCS up). Mouse hovering over the EVA toggle so you can repair wheels fast.
• HAVE FUN. My style of fun may be different from yours. Design and drive accordingly.

[nascarlaser1]

thxs everyone! hopefully this weekend I'll have a basic rover built/almost finished building. I also found stock alike mining extension which I will use for the inline drill for my rover to collect fertilizer (and a little bit of fuel for the emergency fuel cell).