How do u get to duna?

[BlockGaming06]

I made it to the mun im confused how to get to another planet thou.

[Curveball Anders]

40 minutes ago, BlockGaming06 said:

I made it to the mun im confused how to get to another planet thou.

Basicly the same way but with more dV.

 

[HvP]

Hello @BlockGaming06

So you're ready to take that interplanetary leap? Fortunately, it's not really much harder than getting to the Mun, but it does require slightly more planning and a little waiting.

If you've been to the Mun then you know that you have to start in a circular orbit around Kerbin, and then start a long burn at the right time along that orbit so that your path crosses the Mun at the same time the Mun will be there. Well, that's basically all you have to do to get Duna but on a larger scale. Instead of waiting for your ship to be in the right spot around Kerbin relative to the Mun, you have to wait for the planet Kerbin to be in the right spot around the Sun relative to Duna.

There are guides to help you time the transfer burn correctly such as this interplanetary calculator or the image below:

In that image Kerbin is the blue planet and Duna is the red one. You'll want to go to the tracking station and time warp until Kerbin is about 45 degrees behind Duna, like in that image. You can ignore the position of any other planet you aren't going to. This is the most efficient orientation to start your transfer burn so that Duna will be on the other side of the Sun at the same time and place you will cross its path. You'll need to bring enough fuel for a larger delta-v change, of course, but Duna isn't that much more expensive to get to than the Mun.

It's important to remember that if you want to go to planets orbiting further away from the Sun then you need to add orbital velocity. This means that you should burn in the same direction that Kerbin is orbiting the Sun to speed you up relative to Kerbin and put you in a higher orbit. In the case of a normal eastward orbit this means you start your burn on the night side of Kerbin. The opposite is true if you want to go to one of the inner planets from Kerbin. You would then burn on the day side of Kerbin to "go backwards" compared to Kerbin's orbit around the Sun. This causes you to slow down relative to your path around the Sun and you will drop into a lower solar orbit.

At first, your rendezvous maneuvers won't be very precise, but you will have plenty of time to fine tune your approach by making other small maneuvers along the way for a closer approach to your target. Just be aware that Duna orbits in a very similar plane to Kerbin but other planets may require some very expensive inclination changes, especially Moho. And don't forget to bring enough fuel to slow down at your target if you want to orbit or land. Dipping into the atmosphere to slow down is possible with some planets like Eve or even Duna, but there are a lot of variables to consider, such as how thick the atmosphere is, how steep your approach is, and what kind of heat shields you brought with you.

This covers only the barest basics. There is a good tutorial with diagrams HERE

Or if you'd like a video, there's always a Scott Manley vid for that (although it's a little old and some info may be a bit out of date):

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by HvP

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Try this website. It will give you a good idea on how much delta-V you'll need AND when you should launch.

• https://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/
  • Just select your "START" planet and orbital altitude (it's assuming the orbit is circular).
  • Pick your "END" planet and the desired orbital altitude.
  • (OPTIONAL, BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) Enter your current save date
  • Hit "PLOT IT," and pay attention to the results obtained from the porkchop selection graph.

 

Alternatively, you could download the following mods. I highly recommend them, since I never play KSP without them.

• MechJeb
  • Use the "Advanced Transfer to Another Planet" button, and don't forget to hit "Include capture burn" unless you want to crash there.
• Kerbal Alarm Clock
  • It comes with transfer windows (sometimes it conflicts with MJ), and you can save your maneuver node for your ship if you want to do something else while waiting.
  • An alarm will go off five minutes before you hit your node AS WELL AS before you hit/leave another SOI (including moons)
    • BE SURE TO ACTUALLY SET THE ALARMS FIRST.

 

EDIT: If you're far enough into your tech tree, you could always use my Dirtblood SSTO. Just be sure to refuel on Minmus before you leave Kerbin's SOI.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Mars-Bound Hokie
Added my craft file