Your plans for EVA on Duna or other planets?

[AncientAstronaut]

With .17 seemingly not far off, it is probably time to put some serious consideration into how to get to them and what to do when you actually get there. As I do, I already have it all mapped out, but I'm interested in hearing what you all have planned for post landing or just your first mission to another planet?

Will it be orbital?

Flyby?

Landing?

Landing and Return?

Will you go there for science or for fun?

[MaverickSawyer]

All of the above.

[Tim_Barrett]

Get a simple craft to one of the planets and to several fly-by's at all of it's moons. Then I will see what I want to land on.

Not racing this time if anyone would ask, because it seems a lot more fun to make discovering new worlds a bit more realistic.

[EvilotionCR2]

Mine Kethane Samples,deploy rover,do a orbital station,surface station(all in one mission).

Yes and if you doesn't think i can do that look at my signature

[Bluejayek]

I plan to do an intermoon EVA in the jovian system analogue. I believe the outer moons are small enough that I should be able to travel between them and land on EVA.

[Tim_Barrett]

Another thing, I'm taking Jeb's "Bad-ass Local Hardware Challenge" for 0.17.

It basically means I will use only stock for my first flights to the planets.

I should make that a real challenge...

[Enture]

I really want to do it in a realistic-ish manner, so I guess I'll start with unmanned probes for flybys and/or "grand tour" type missions, with onboard Fixed Cameras to send the first pictures of those new worlds back to KSC.

As for kerbaled exploration... well, I don't know yet. I (kinda) master munar and minmussian landings, but my computer won't allow for too big rockets (for RP purposes, we'll speak of budget restrictions ), so I guess kerbaled flybys (think Apollo Applications program: Venus flyby and stuff) and orbital missions will come first -always with crews of three, because I hate to send a poor lonely Kerbal that far away-. Landings will hopefully follow, but I don't see any other solution than the multi-ship approach.

It's with that idea in mind that I'm training my Kerbals at orbital rendezvous maneuvers: today's first Rendezvous mission was a tremendous success (and surprisingly, more rewarding than munar landing!), and marks the first step towards readiness for interplanetary exploration!

EDIT: as for what my first target will be... EVE, without a second of hesitation! Followed by the Joolian system.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Enture

[Trebuchet-Launch]

I've been thinking about all sorts of mission profiles for these planets, but honestly I'm not sure what I plan to do first, exactly. I'm gunning for either Gilly, Bop, or Ike as a first target - probably Gilly - and then I will explore the heck out of my target planet.

EDIT: Specifically, I've been doing two-ship missions to the two moons, so I want to see if my return craft has the oomph to do a return to Kerbin from one of the mini-moons. I'm almost certain it does, but, eh... gotta test. After that, it's exploration time.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Trebuchet-Launch

[Tim_Barrett]

The one thing I'm afraid about these long distances are the rocket that it requires... I mean, we will need rockets so big that they won't even look like rockets anymore... not really my style tbh.

[nhnifong]

It's not easy to decide what to do first... I want to see them all! So I'm going to the Joolian system to do a tour of its moons. I'm going to attempt to deploy a small remote controllable cart on each moon all in one mission, and then dive the remains of the transfer craft into Jool

[Pyre]

Probably flybys first, with orbits as an option if fuel permits, then my reconnaissance orbiter:

From there, who knows?

[nhnifong]

I've been thinking about all sorts of mission profiles for these planets, but honestly I'm not sure what I plan to do first, exactly. I'm gunning for either Gilly, Bop, or Ike as a first target - probably Gilly - and then I will explore the heck out of my target planet.

EDIT: Specifically, I've been doing two-ship missions to the two moons, so I want to see if my return craft has the oomph to do a return to Kerbin from one of the mini-moons. I'm almost certain it does, but, eh... gotta test. After that, it's exploration time.

Have you tried doing a simulated interplanetary two-ship mission by leaving Kerbin and going on an elliptical orbit around the sun with a period 2x Kerbin's? Escape Kerbin in it's direction of travel with your sun apoapsis at 29,570,000 m

[Trebuchet-Launch]

OK, I need to clarify... I've done testing in 0.16, but won't consider myself satisfied until I've tested it in 0.17, too. I've been thinking about more elaborate mission architectures for more efficient planetary exploration, too - posted about that in the 0.17 thread (latest). I'm considering building a bigger "Mun Bus" as well, for returns (basically, I'm planning to return multiple missions in one return craft, so that I send out four craft and return one, etc.)

So, my Eve plan goes something like this:

(1) Land return craft on Gilly (surface rendezvous is much easier than the orbital variety)

(2) Land Eve exploration craft - an ascent vehicle (1-man capsule attached to a crewtank)

(3) Land Eve sortie craft - planes and hoppers, basically, to wander around in.

(4) Return Eve sortie craft to the ascent vehicle. Everyone gets in the ascent vehicle. Fly to Gilly, or, if that's too taxing on the ascent vehicle, to LEO and then fly the return craft to orbital rendezvous around Eve.

(5) Burn for home.

Future missions in the Eve exploration program would establish a Gilly base, put a transfer vehicle in the Eve-Gilly system for moving crew between Eve and its moon, and establish surface Eve bases.

[AncientAstronaut]

I really want to do it in a realistic-ish manner

Me too.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/561042_10151150469823830_1334234749_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/560404_10151150470213830_2065950640_n.jpg

I have been training for a Duna EVA following that checklist and it's been real tough to get it all done in the amount of time I have allowed myself. Certainly no time to actually ENJOY walking on Duna.

[nhnifong]

I think I'll go to 4.5 South, 137.4 east and see if Curiosity is landed there.

[TheProdigy]

Scuicidal mission into Jool. First will be an unmanned probe, and following right behind it will be a group of kerbals. I plan to EVA in the atmosphere to test how far down their little bodies can take.

In the name of science.

[Enture]

Me too.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/561042_10151150469823830_1334234749_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/560404_10151150470213830_2065950640_n.jpg

I have been training for a Duna EVA following that checklist and it's been real tough to get it all done in the amount of time I have allowed myself. Certainly no time to actually ENJOY walking on Duna.

WOW, that leaves me speechless.

I mean, I'd define myself as somebody taking the realistic approach, be it in the steps of my Space Program, or the development process of my spacecrafts, or the naming system of my ships, or the calculation sheets I have about their ∆v in different configurations, and the .txt file I keep with records of all my missions; but what you have here... it's a step further, and it's awesome! And it even looks as if you really had typed it on a typewriter

Kudos! Don't you want to blog-post about it or something, so the community could enjoy it? I at least would love it!

[AncientAstronaut]

Yeah Paint has a fantastic Courier font. I have been making tons of these modeled after the Apollo flight plans and checklists. Really helpful, actually.

I will make a blog post. Along with my other stuff.

--EDIT--

I have made a blog post. If anyone is wondering, you can print them out by pasting them into a word document and making the image the exact size of the entire page -- as that is how they are scanned).

For the Pre Landing and Post Landing Checklists, cut them out along the lines of the box so you have mini pages.

And to be more on topic, well, this is how I'm getting to Duna. Going to read myself all the way there.

Edited September 14, 2012 by AncientAstronaut

[Elven_sword]

The craft: DEMV rover with skycrane, and Iketian lander with space for 2 kerbals

The plan:

1. Enter orbit around Duna's moon Ike.

2. One kerbonaut EVAs to the Iketian lander.

3. Release, deorbit, and land the one-man lander.

4. Skycrane/rover departs Iketian orbit and lands upon Duna.

5. 2 remaining kerbonauts move from the 3-man pod to the rover.

6. Empty 3-man pod retroes fire, decouples from rover.

7. 3-man pod crashes into surface.

There are now 2 kerbals in a 5-man rolling research station. This is rectified:

1. 4-man lander lands at DEMV.

2.Transfers 3 kerbals to DEMV.

3. Lander departs for Ike.

4. Lands at Iketian research station, as mentioned in previous mission plan.

5. Refuels and resupplies station.

6. 1 kerbonaut starts the resupply lander main engine, then jumps off.

7. Resupply lander crashes into surface, kerbal from resupply lander safely at research base

FINAL OUTCOME:

5-man rover on Duna.

2-man scientific outpost on Ike.

1 giant leap for Kerbkind.

[bsalis]

My EVA plan for Duna is to look at some rocks. Look at some more rocks until I get bored, then go start another mission.

[TheDarkStar]

Nova said a couple weeks ago that each planet would have a secret like the monoliths, so I'll be busy finding them.