Science Basics

[Elroy Jetson]

New to the game, I can get into orbit around kerbin, and have done a slingshot around the mun.  I'm sure my questions have been discussed here so please point me to those discussions if possible.  So,

 

what is the max altitude above kerbin that allows me to gather science from different biomes?  Is it possible to do this in orbit or not because 70k is considered high above the planet or a single biome?

 

my next plan is to get into low circular orbit (15k) around the mun,  I assume this will have me pass thru multiple choice biomes.  So, big most important question is how do I prepare my orbiter to gather science while in orbit around the mun?  What I still have trouble with is the sequence or steps for maximizing science.  Lets say I take ONLY a temp probe and pressure probe, My pilot will be Jeb.  I know I can perform crew reports, activate the experiments, EVA, gather the data.  But could someone please be specific on the exact steps and order?  I always seem to get errors indicating I have not done  something in the correct order.  

 

Related to the above orbit, is it possible  to setup an orbit that  has the planet or mun rotating under the orbiting command module so that with enough orbits I could conceivably pass over every biome on the mun?  Not sure I understand this part of an orbit.  I am picturing the path like the ISS makes over earth, where each subsequent orbit is shifted east (or is it west?) of the prior pass.

 

i have been watching quill18 and Scott Manley videos and those are a big help but I still don't understand the gathering of science and how to store/save it.  I have unlocked the science junior and comm antennas so if that helps I could use those on my planned mission to orbit mun.

 

thanks for any help on these topics!

 

Elroy Jettson

[Espatie]

What you can do, and at what height, varies by module.

 

For Kerbin, below 18km is flying low, 18km-70km is flying high, 70km to 250km is in space low, above 250km to the limit of the SOI is in space high.

 

After that, cross reference with this table for what experiments work at what heights by either Biome or Global: https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science#Possible_combinations_of_Activity.2C_Situation.2C_and_Biome

 

Global ones have only one result for that altitude over the whole sphere; biome ones change by biome.

 

Good tips for early Science: all the KSC buildings are their own biome, as are (if you have Making History) the other launch sites. You can also get to a majority of the regular Kerbin Biomes from either KSC or the alternative launch sites with ease.

 

Launching into a Low Polar Orbit and doing EVA reports in every Biome (& then re-entering at the Pole for further reports and a surface sample) is a good way to get early Science.

[Zhetaan]

Firstly, welcome to the forum; you've definitely come to the right place.

2 hours ago, Elroy Jetson said:

what is the max altitude above kerbin that allows me to gather science from different biomes?  Is it possible to do this in orbit or not because 70k is considered high above the planet or a single biome?

That depends on the experiment.  Here's the essential idea of how science works:

First, experiments work in specific 'situations'.  There are a number of these:  landed, splashed, flying low, flying high, space low, and space high.  Some experiments work in all of these situations, but some experiments only work in a few situations.  On top of that, any, all, or none of these can be biome-specific, meaning that instead of a global result for the whole planet, you can get specific results for each biome.  For example, the seismic accelerometer only works when 'landed'--it won't let you take a report otherwise--but it gives different reports for every biome.  The infrared telescope only works when in space high, and it's global, so it only takes one result total for each planet.  You can take EVA reports for each biome in space low but only one for all of Kerbin in space high.  Also, it's not necessary to enter orbit:  so long as the situation is correct, you can get the results, even on a suborbital hop where you clear the atmosphere for only ten seconds, or a hyperbolic flyby where you dip low enough to get the low space science and then then head back to Kerbin.

Second, not every world has all of these situations.  'Flying' requires an atmosphere; 'splashed' requires an ocean (that may or may not have water in it; it just needs to be liquid), and so forth.

Third, the altitude transitions for these situations vary with the location.  For Kerbin, 'flying low' changes to 'flying high' at 18,000 metres; 'flying high' changes to 'space low' at the edge of the atmosphere (70,000 metres), and 'space low' changes to 'space high' at 250,000 metres.  You can't get flying science when you're in space, for example, so that's a limit, but all that means is that there's a different range of experiments to do.  Eventually, you leave Kerbin's sphere of influence, so I suppose that's the absolute maximum.

2 hours ago, Elroy Jetson said:

my next plan is to get into low circular orbit (15k) around the mun,  I assume this will have me pass thru multiple choice biomes.  So, big most important question is how do I prepare my orbiter to gather science while in orbit around the mun?  What I still have trouble with is the sequence or steps for maximizing science.  Lets say I take ONLY a temp probe and pressure probe, My pilot will be Jeb.  I know I can perform crew reports, activate the experiments, EVA, gather the data.  But could someone please be specific on the exact steps and order?  I always seem to get errors indicating I have not done  something in the correct order.

There's no preferred order of experiments; the only thing to be really concerned about is that when you take crew reports, you have to gather the data from the pod, as well.  I'm probably telling you something you already know, but the steps are:  get out of the capsule, right-click on it (or the experiment), select 'Take Data', right-click on the capsule and select 'Store Data', and then get back in for the next report.  You may also choose to just board the capsule after taking the data, which will also store the data in the correct place.  Otherwise, the most recent report is stored in the--we'll call it the active data slot--and keeps a new one from being added without overwriting the active one.  You have to pull the data from the active slot and put it into inactive storage in order to make room for a new report.  As to why you have to get out of the capsule to do this, I have no idea.  If you continue to get errors such as duplicate report errors, that only means that you've already visited that biome.  Alternatively, it means that you've got a global experiment and can only take one for that situation, which is the same problem but with fewer total reports.  Temperature, for example, is global unless you're landed, splashed, or flying low (two of these are not an issue at the Mun--I'll let you guess which ones).  The same is true of crew reports.  Pressure is global except on the surface--it doesn't do biome-specific science even flying low.  In fact, the only experiments that are biome-specific in space low are EVA reports and gravity scans.

You can tell whether an experiment is biome-specific in any situation by looking at the experiment result.  If it says, for example, 'Temperature while Landed at Mun's Poles', then the biome name (Poles) tells you that it gets results by the biome.  Obviously, 'landed' tells you the situation.  If it says, instead, 'Temperature while In Space Near the Mun', then that's a global experiment ('space near' is the same as 'space low').

Anyway, to properly answer your question, preparing your orbiter is a matter of putting the experiments you want on it.  I'd recommend using a service bay to keep them out of the wind on the way up, but that doesn't help you get science except indirectly.  However, assuming that you've already gotten Kerbin's low and high space temperature and pressure results, then on the way down to the Mun with a thermometer and barometer, you'll get four experiments in high space:  temperature, pressure, EVA report, and crew report.  All of those experiments are global in high space.  The change from high to low occurs at 60 km at the Mun, so 15 km is definitely close enough.  There, temperature, pressure, and crew reports are all global, so you'll only get one each, which means that in all honesty, getting the most science entails hanging off the ladder and taking EVA reports in each new biome (and remembering to put the reports away to make room for new ones).

In general, preparing your vessel is a matter of knowing what you intend to do with it.  Don't put a telescope on your lander; it only works in orbit.  Don't put seismometers on your orbiter; they only work when landed.  Take a barometer (surprise!) but not an atmospheric analysis unit, unless you're both visiting a world with an atmosphere and intent on flying there (Jool and Eve can be tricky).

I'd recommend a polar orbit in order to get all possible biomes, but if you want any more science, then you'll need to land (or take different experiments).

2 hours ago, Elroy Jetson said:

Related to the above orbit, is it possible  to setup an orbit that  has the planet or mun rotating under the orbiting command module so that with enough orbits I could conceivably pass over every biome on the mun?  Not sure I understand this part of an orbit.  I am picturing the path like the ISS makes over earth, where each subsequent orbit is shifted east (or is it west?) of the prior pass.

As I said above, use a polar orbit.  When you launch and turn east, you end up in what's called an equatorial orbit (so named because it's above the equator).  If you were to turn north instead, you'd end up in a polar orbit, so named because it goes over the poles.  The ISS is an intermediate case; but the general term for all orbits that are not equatorial is inclined orbit.  Much like a ramp has a tilted surface that is called an incline, an inclined orbit is tilted with respect to the equatorial plane.  Something of which to be cautious is that the Mun, being tidally locked to Kerbin, has an extremely slow rotation period of nearly six and one-half days, so it will take a while for the Mun to rotate under your vessel.  Forty-five degrees of inclination will give access to most biomes in less time.

To set up a polar orbit, the most straightforward way is to burn to transfer to the Mun as usual, but as soon as you cross into the Mun's sphere of influence, set up a node for an immediate normal burn ( on the navball).  The time isn't too critical but you'll want to burn as soon as possible after entering the sphere.  However, you won't get the most up-to-date orbit information until after you enter the Mun's sphere of influence, so don't set up the burn until after you've crossed over, either.  Add enough normal burn to tilt the orbit as much as you like (or put it over the pole if you want to try for a polar orbit), add enough prograde or retrograde so that your periapsis is out of the ground and at the altitude you want (15 km), and then burn to capture when you get there as usual.

2 hours ago, Elroy Jetson said:

i have been watching quill18 and Scott Manley videos and those are a big help but I still don't understand the gathering of science and how to store/save it.  I have unlocked the science junior and comm antennas so if that helps I could use those on my planned mission to orbit mun.

The comm system is useful for other purposes, but for science it's really only good for transmitting science results back to Kerbin.  If you intend to bring Jeb back, you don't need it because you can recover the experiments along with the pilot.  Also, transmitted results tend to be worth less and there's a limit to how much can be transmitted, anyway (whether or not that makes sense:  temperature and pressure are capped at 50%, which is weird, because those are just numbers).  Eventually, you have to bring the science back.

The Science Jr. is a nice experiment and gives a lot of science, but it's heavy and single-use.  It can be restored by a scientist if you have one along, but not by a pilot.  It's worth taking one or two to get the space high and low science, but unless you really need the science to unlock something, you may want to wait for a dedicated landing mission with a scientist in a two-seat vessel, in which case you can grab the space science on the way there.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Zhetaan

[Espatie]

The actual easiest way to get into a Mun polar orbit is this:

 

Use the Tracking Station to get to a moment when Mun is on the other side of Kerbin from KSC

 

Launch into an inclined orbit of 10 graden (north or south, doesn't much matter).

 

Immediately set up your Mind burn (it'll be roughly at the point when Mun rises above Kerbin's horizon as seen from your ship).

 

If you set it up right you should be on a polar intercept with Mun, and all you need to do is circularise.

[Superfluous J]

I find this to be a fantastic resource whenever I have a question about science. Which, after almost 6 years you'd think I wouldn't have any more. But I do. All the time.

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science

[HvP]

Hello @Elroy Jetson and welcome to KSP!

Science is sometimes a fiddly process in KSP and it's not always easy to tell what science you can do and in what environment. The wiki articles linked to by @Espatie and @5thHorseman are essential for figuring out what you can do and where.

For your question about what you can do in orbit; only EVA reports and the Negative Gravioli Detector will give you biome specific results while in orbit outside of the atmosphere. The Gravioli Detecor, however, is only available much later in the game, when you've already unlocked most of the science tree. Any other experiments will only give you one reading for the whole planet/moon while in the region considered "low in space." You can get another reading for "high in space" which starts at different altitudes for different worlds.

My recommendation is to make sure to have an Experiment Storage Unit on your craft and bind it to an action group. Every time you trigger that action it will automatically collect the science results from all over the craft and store it in the container. You can bind your gravity experiment, and any of your other science experiments, to another action group. If you have access to the External Command Seat then your Kerbal can conduct EVA reports without having to hang onto a ladder outside the ship and your Kerbal is still in control of the ship. This also makes it much easier to time warp around the planet without your Kerbal floating away. You can't assign the EVA report to an action group so you should probably right click on the Kerbal in the command seat and pin their action window open so you'll have easy access to it. Now you can much more quickly scoop up science in orbit.

Having said all of this, it's likely that you are in an early stage of your career before you have access to either the command seat or the gravity detector. If that's the case then you'll have to content yourself with getting out on EVA every time you want a biome report. The experiment container still comes early enough in career that you should plan on unlocking it for science gathering missions. Many people opt for a strategy of building a lightweight "hopper" than can land on the low gravity moon Minmus and hop around to its different biomes on the surface to gather a boat load of science fairly quickly.

If you aren't opposed to using mods, there are a few different ones that help you run science experiments and notify you of new biomes you are entering. Such as: Science Alert ReAlerted or Experiment Tracker Retracked.

Edited February 19, 2019 by HvP

[MaverickSawyer]

Other folks have already touched on the stock science parts, so I'll plug some of my personal favorite science mods...

- DMagic Orbital Science provides a few new experiments for both orbit and surface uses.

- Probes Plus! adds a few more versions of the DMOS parts in somewhat more compact packages, as well as a host of new probe parts and assorted accessories.

- Bluedog Design Bureau adds a few new experiments early in the tech tree, along with a rather extensive selection of parts for spacecraft and launchers.

These packs have been core parts of my game for a long time, and dramatically soften the science curve early in the game.

[Espatie]

If we're recommending Science Mods, then the Surface Experiments Pack is absolutely gold, no questions asked.

[GoatRider]

Somebody recently mentions a mod that streamlines science collection. It collects all the science you can at a location, with just a push of a button, without the tediousness of clicking on every instrument and running around collecting and resetting each one if you have a scientist. Does anybody remember which one that is? I'm thinking of grabbing it for my second career run-through.

[Jacke]

15 hours ago, GoatRider said:

Somebody recently mentions a mod that streamlines science collection. It collects all the science you can at a location, with just a push of a button, without the tediousness of clicking on every instrument and running around collecting and resetting each one if you have a scientist. Does anybody remember which one that is? I'm thinking of grabbing it for my second career run-through.

There's a few mods that do this.  Take a look under Science here.  There's at least Automatic Science Sampler and For Science that include that function.

 

Back to the original poster's request.

Lots of good advice here.

For keeping track of stock KSP science, I made up a set of Science Checklists.  They're current with KSP 1.6.x and have lots of little details about things like science around the Kerbal Space Centre.

As for a number of people talking about trajectories, orbital maneuvering has a number of things you're just going to have to learn by experience, as it's very different from anything you've likely encountered.  There are a large number of terms taken from orbital dynamics done in the real world and you'll learn those as you encounter them.

There's a few rules of thumb.

1.  Changing a velocity either in line or opposite to its current direction usually has a greater effect when the velocity being changed is higher.

This is the Oberth Effect, ie. using an amount of delta-V closer to the primary object being orbited has greater effect.

2.  Changing a velocity at right angles to its current direction usually has a greater effect when the velocity being changed is lower.

One example is to do a plane change maneuver, it's best to do it at apoapsis when the orbital velocity is lowest; for circular or low eccentricity elliptical orbits, raising the apoapsis for this can be worth it.

3.  Changing a velocity at right angles for a given effect can be better to do farther away.

Common case for this already mentioned is how to put a spacecraft into a polar Munar orbit for the least extra delta-V.  The best way to do this is during the Trans Munar Injection maneuver by giving it a vertical component and aiming for a Munar polar pass.  The extra delta-V up is vector added to the large Trans Munar Injection delta-V, so its cost is least there.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Jacke

[StrandedonEarth]

24 minutes ago, GoatRider said:

Somebody recently mentions a mod that streamlines science collection. It collects all the science you can at a location, with just a push of a button, without the tediousness of clicking on every instrument and running around collecting and resetting each one if you have a scientist. Does anybody remember which one that is? I'm thinking of grabbing it for my second career run-through.

That's my preferred mod for that sort of thing. Does a few other things too. I tend to forget which things weren't stock.

Edited February 20, 2019 by StrandedonEarth

[Foxster]

Coupla thoughts...

I think the best auto science collection mod is "ForScience!". Completely automates finding what experiments are available, running them and stores the results. It's pretty much idiot-proof, only EVA reports aren't fully automated so remember to do an EVA in each situation you can get new science. 

Don't forget having a scientist onboard means that the experiments that are otherwise one-use can be re-used. ForScience! automates the reset for you. 

Bring the results back to Kerbin for more science than you get by transmitting it. 

Though you can get some science puttering around the KSC etc, its very small compared to what you'll get in one Munar slingshot, which can be done with some very low tech. 

If you use ForScience! then you can put your craft into a, say, 85° orbit and leave it running while warping for a while to collect at the different biomes. 

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by Foxster

[Elroy Jetson]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions/info!  I am running the console version so don't have access to the mods but that's okay, I enjoy the information.  

thanks again for all the help!

 

Elroy

[Elroy Jetson]

Today I was successful in a polar science orbit of kerbin!  Thanks for the tips and suggestions!  I picked up about 90 science points during a 1 day orbit, I forgot to try and count how many orbits that was.

 

is there a way in stock KSP to display the multiple path projection map like you see of the ISS?  Is this sort of thing even available with mods?  I would assume this would be in the tracking station.  

 

Thanks, Elroy.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Elroy Jetson

[Foxster]

Check out the SCANSat mod. 

[StrandedonEarth]

3 hours ago, Elroy Jetson said:

is there a way in stock KSP to display the multiple path projection map like you see of the ISS?  Is this sort of thing even available with mods?

or the Trajectories mod.

 

[Elroy Jetson]

Guys,

 

thanks again for all the info, really adds value to the gameplay to have a support network.

 

i don't see much in the way of video tutorials that talk about managing the administration building.  Are there "strategies " there that I should take or avoid?  Do any of these help with kerbal bucks or science?  Right now I have activated the unpaid research program and aggressive negotiations but I don't understand the long or short term implications.

 

Elroy

[Zhetaan]

On 2/21/2019 at 7:24 AM, Elroy Jetson said:

i don't see much in the way of video tutorials that talk about managing the administration building.  Are there "strategies " there that I should take or avoid?  Do any of these help with kerbal bucks or science?  Right now I have activated the unpaid research program and aggressive negotiations but I don't understand the long or short term implications.

Strategies, explained:

The Finances, Science, and Public Relations Departments are interested in Funds, Science, and Reputation, respectively.  They each have two long-term strategies that turn the other two currencies into the one that they're interested in.  There is a required minimum Reputation and a set-up cost, so you have to have some of what you're converting to begin, and the conversion amount varies depending on how much you choose to commit (which is also limited by how much you've upgraded the Administration Building), but it can go as high as 100%, meaning that you can conceivably trade all of your gains in one thing for another.  This makes sense in the late game when you've researched the entire tech tree and no longer have a use for all of those Science points you keep collecting, for example, but you may want to have a few million Funds to pay for your new mega-rocket that uses all of those new parts that you just finished unlocking.  It's also useful if you keep killing your Kerbals and want a balm for the strikes against your Reputation, though I've found that bad Reputation is actually the easiest obstacle to overcome.

Finances:

• Fundraising Campaign:  Trades Reputation for Funds
• Patents Licensing:  Trades Science for Funds

Science:

• Unpaid Research Program:  Trades Reputation for Science
• Outsourced R&D:  Trades Funds for Science

Public Relations:

• Appreciation Campaign:  Trades Funds for Reputation
• Open-Source Research Program:  Trades Science for Reputation

There are two more long-term strategies (both from the Operations Department) that change the balance of launching and recovery:

• Aggressive Negotiations:  Trades some Reputation for lower costs on launches, building repairs and upgrades, and unlocking technologies in the R&D building (not the nodes which require Science, but the individual parts which require Funds).  This is applied for each discount, meaning that there's a Reputation cost for every new launch, every new technology you research, and so on.  On the other hand, the discount is a percentage of the Funds cost (up to thirty (Wow!) percent for launches) and the Reputation cost is limited to six (that's six Reputation Points, not six percent), so if you're in the habit of buying expensive rockets or you want to unlock the expensive third-tier upgrades (or you need to fix the third-tier VAB since you just crashed the expensive rocket into it), this is potentially a lot of money saved for a comparatively minor strike on Reputation.
• Recovery Transponder Fitting:  Trades the maximum recovery value for a higher minimum.  This is the only Funds-for-Funds strategy; it mainly is useful if you tend to drop your rockets on the other side of Kerbin.  If you land near KSC, use a lot of disposable probes, or like to keep your vessels in the sky for many multiple missions, then this strategy is silly.  If you want to land on the other side of the planet and get 25% recovery at the risk of only getting 88% when you're next to KSC, or if you just have too much money and need to invent nonsensical ways to spend it, then this strategy is for you.  It may have a use in the early game when you may not be able to land planes in one piece or you don't have good landing control, but as soon as the value of the rocket begins to make this worthwhile, you've got both the skill and the technology to do better on your own.  Besides, if you want nonsensical ways to spend money, why not do something spectacular, such as launching a rocket full of Xenon tanks into the sun?

Lastly, there are two immediate-return strategies, one in the Science Department and one in the Public Relations Department, that respectively trade some amount of your Science and your Reputation for Funds right away:

• Research Rights Sell-Out:  Sells Science (up to 100% of it) for Funds
• Bail-Out Grant:  Sells Reputation (again, up to 100% of it) for Funds

These strategies appear to be intended for those who manage, either through bad luck or bad management, to bankrupt their space program and have no other way to make money (because, for example, they don't have enough to pay for the rocket that can complete the contract to get more money--Rockomax does not, apparently, accept credit).  Granted that people in this situation must also have managed to do a few experiments or else remain in the public's good graces, so if you're completely out of Reputation, Science, and Funds, you're also out of luck.  The other use of these that I can think of is that, for example, let's say that you've completed the tech tree and set up Patents Licensing for 100%.  There's a Science set-up cost, but after that, there is still a lot of Science left over; Patents Licensing only works on new incoming Science, not what you already have.  The Sell-Out in this case gives you useful money from the Science you still have left over.

Long-term, the strategies you've activated will both lower your reputation, so it will be more important for you not to fail contracts or to kill Kerbals.  One will help your Funds by giving you cheaper launches and facility upgrades, and the other will give you Science for everything you do well (new World's Firsts and completing contracts mostly).  However, the amount of Reputation loss is balanced by a few things.  One of these is that Reputation is actually fairly easy to get, provided you have the standard difficulty settings for your game.  Another is that Reputation, unlike Science or Funds, is not strictly additive.  By that I mean to say that when a contract promises a certain amount of Science or Funds, it pays that amount and your totals increase.  Reputation, on the other hand, is limited to 1000, so as you get closer to that value, contracts pay out less of it.  Lowering your Reputation with strategies, oddly enough, actually opens the way for you to get more of it from each contract.

Edited March 5, 2019 by Zhetaan

[bewing]

11 minutes ago, Zhetaan said:

so if you're completely out of Reputation

Fortunately, reputation is asymptotic. So you can never run out of it, no matter how hard you try.

On the other hand, if your reputation is low, then you will only get crummy "part test" and tourism contracts.

I've never found the admin building strategies to be helpful in the game, myself. Theoretically, if you end up with lots of money and rep before you complete your tech tree then you can convert rep into a little bit of science. But it'll never be enough to make a serious dent in those last 1000 point tech tree nodes.

Edited February 21, 2019 by bewing

[Zhetaan]

7 minutes ago, bewing said:

Fortunately, reputation is asymptotic. So you can never run out of it, no matter how hard you try.

On the other hand, if your reputation is low, then you will only get crummy "part test" and tourism contracts.

But there is also a minimum Reputation requirement to activate that strategy, so for practical purposes, yes, you can, in the sense that you can have a public image that is so bad that you cannot sell that image for money--the extraordinary need of which, as I understand it, is why you would want to sell that Reputation in the first place.

The only thing to do then is hope that you get a contract to test something on the Launch Pad.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Zhetaan

[Espatie]

Strategies become more attractive on higher difficulty settings. Because of how Reputation works, it is comparatively little affected by higher difficulties.

[Loren Pechtel]

One thing to note about "flying high".  It goes clear up to 70km.  That means you can collect "flying high" science at 69.9km--and the drag at that altitude is tiny.  It doesn't take a lot of fuel to "orbit" at that altitude.  I find it much easier to collect science than with an airplane and since you're moving at orbital speed you reach biomes faster.  (And on the other end, "flying low", coupled with some form of automated science gathering, can be obtained from a rover with jump rockets--balance them the best you can and cut them off very quickly.  You can wring just about every drop of science out of Kerbin without building an airplane.)

[Elroy Jetson]

Continuing my education here...

 

i am starting to establish a base on Minmus.  Should I be transmitting science or anything else from here back to KSC?

 

what do I need in terms of a transmitter on Minmus?  My tracking station is fully upgraded now.  I have a bit of goo science from my location but the transmit value is 0.0 while the recovery value is11.5?

the signal meter is 0 so I'm guessing that is my issue?  I do have two of the little whip antenna on the base.

there is no way to augment my base once it is here on Minmus is there, other than attaching additional components thru a docking port on both units?  (Unfortunately I didn't put any on my initial base, but that's ok, I'll just call it my hover craft. It still has a fair bit of fuel so I can probably get around the surface a lot before it runs dry.)

[Espatie]

There's a factor called Transmission Efficiency; this caps the Science obtainable by transmitting. For Crew Reports and EVA reports, transmission efficiency is 100%; so it is possible to get maximum Science from those without having to return.

 

For other experiments you must return the data to Kerbin to get the full amount, but you can transmit for a partial amount now and recover for the rest later.

[bewing]

A single whip antenna is good enough on minmus for transmitting science -- even with just a lvl 2 tracking station.

You can really only transmit each experiment once. After that, if there is any remaining science for that experiment, you have to bring the experiment back to kerbin to get any science points for it. So the transmit value will still show zero, even when you have good connectivity.

And yes, you will get occasional contracts to transmit more experiments from Minmus, so it's always a good idea to have a few extra stored in your craft.

You can augment any craft after it is built by using a klaw (advanced grabbing unit) on one craft. You do not need to have docking ports on both craft.