The little lander challenge: Complete

[Guest]

Yeah just found that

 

[QF9E]

Points tally of my drop lander:

1. Launch - 10 (10 - cumulative total in brackets)
2. Intersect with target - 5 (15)
3. Land on target - 20 (35)
4. Target the Mun - 10 (45)
5. Launcher size - 1.25 meter diameter, 8 ton mass = small: 5 (50)
6. Mission time - about 1 day, as usual for a Mun mission = 15 (65)
7. Terrain - landed on 18 degree slope, came to rest on 12 degree slope (inside crater wall) = 20 (85)
8. Smallest lander - I think this is the theoretical minimum. You might be able to do this with a single octagonal strut, but I found a battery just a bit too big to enclose in one. 20 (105)
9. Kerbin system lander - 10 (115)

Edited May 1, 2020 by QF9E

[Guest]

Not to date message

Edited May 3, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

I got an Eeloo Lander demo ready, ion engines take FOREVER. So We will see when I can get that submitted for people to see a good example of a hard mission

[Laie]

 

Not much to say, really. It's a Jool "lander" and that's that.

Cost was 14,277. I only brought barometer and thermometer. Two verniers for control on ascent, those are cheaper than control surfaces and work right from the start. Launch was basically "just dial in an initial angle and then follow prograde". I blew extra funds on a fancy probe core so I don't have to use an autopilot mod for maneuvers -- Mechjeb's Smart A.S.S. is open just so you can see that it's inactive. I assure you that throttle was controlled manually on all maneuvers.

I used a Tylo assist, but even without that it's under 4km/s from LKO to a safe landing on Jool. With the parachute fully deployed, descent slowed to 1m/s, so I could safely deploy the antenna and start transmitting. Data from the upper atmosphere was stored on the instruments until then, data transmission cost a whole 400 EC. As for pretty screenshots, I can offer this:

[Guest]

Great submission! I will take integrity and that you where able to preform science experiments and I still have to determine if yours is a small or medium rocket. I think it will be small for now.

you receive 100 points

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Guest

[mystifeid]

 

It's been a while ...

Name: mystifeid
Date: 5/3/20
Destination: Mohole
Type of Submission: Images + Video

Spoiler

Lander Angle 1

Lander Angle 2

Rocket Total Cost

Launchpad

First stage - 4 x Kickbacks

Second Stage - 1 x Kickback

Third stage - 1 x Terrier and Moho transfer laid in

First two drop tanks away

Minor mid course correction at the DN

Moho capture burn plotted

Burning for capture

Last drop tanks jettisoned

Moho polar orbit established

Landing in the Mohole

 

[Guest]

 

This was one cool submission. I thought no one would do Mohole!

Edited May 3, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

@mystifeid, @QF9E, @Laie, @vyznev I got a new patch under works that you can replace your current patch with. But if you like the personal patches, then go ahead and keep them. But I got a new patch coming out soon

 

[Guest]

If you want your old patches, use this link right here: https://kerbalanders.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/little-lander-challenge-images/

[Guest]

Well here is my own submission to this challenge:

Name: @The Doodling Astronaut

Date: 5/3/20

Destination: Eeloo

Type of Submission: Images

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

No longer up to Date message

Edited May 4, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

To anyone that is still getting a lander for submission. I am going to make a video on June 1st 2020 about this challenge and the results. The challenge will continue but I won't make a video for it.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Guest

[aspacecephalopod]

Mind if I toss my hat into the ring @The Doodling Astronaut ? Was putting together some low mass kerballed Tylo landers, but think I can go a lot lighter with a probe!

I did have one quick question, does the lander need to have enough dV to handle the entire landing or can the transfer stage be used for initial deorbit (basically, staging without a dedicated lander lower stage)?

Edited May 14, 2020 by aspacecephalopod

[Guest]

2 hours ago, aspacecephalopod said:

I did have one quick question, does the lander need to have enough dV to handle the entire landing or can the transfer stage be used for initial deorbit (basically, staging without a dedicated lander lower stage)?

the only thing you need when landed on the surface is the probe core, science, and communications. You can use a landing stage or what you are using as the deorbit stage. I think it would be difficult to have all your tanks and probe core together during landing

Edited May 14, 2020 by Guest

[aspacecephalopod]

17 minutes ago, The Doodling Astronaut said:

the only thing you need when landed on the surface is the probe core, science, and communications. You can use a landing stage or what you are using as the deorbit stage. I think it would be difficult to have all your tanks and probe core together during landing

Sounds great, thanks! I'll have something posted in the next few days hopefully.

[Guest]

New expansion to the challenge for anyone who has submitted a lander already

Edited May 14, 2020 by Guest

[aspacecephalopod]

So I realized after the fact that MechJeb is totally specified as not allowed-whoops! My bad, feel free to not include my entry or deduct as many points as you see fit. I didn't use it much, flew the ascent from Kerbin and Tylo landing full manual, but did use it for flight info, plotting the target landing site, and plotting/timing orbital maneuver burns. The ship is fully flyable without any mod assists though (and I had plenty of fuel reserve to do so). I landed near but not inside the Tylo cave, mostly for fun but guessing landing a few hundred meters away isn't officially at the cave.

That said I thought I'd still share the mission despite my error-was super fun to run low mass as my main savegame right now is about to send three 350T ships off to Laythe. Really nice to be able to zip along with no lag

Full mission here

Lander design

Edited May 15, 2020 by aspacecephalopod

[AHHans]

Well, you can argue about if my Mohole lander is smaller than @mystifeid's or not, but my rocket definitely is:

(It technically doesn't need the fins, but I think they make it look cute. So there!)

The major difference is that I used an ion engine for the transfer from Kerbin to Moho. This made the transfer stage much smaller, allowing for a smaller lifter, and in the end also for a cheaper rocket at 31526.

Name: AHHans
Date: 15. May 2020
Destination: Moho / Mohole
Type of Submission: Images (imgur album)

The lander on the VAB:

Spoiler

And in the VAB:

Cost of the complete rocket:

First stage in action:

The first stage gets the craft all the way into orbit, but I let it fall back into the atmosphere. This is after fairing separation, but before the circularization burn:

The 7.8 km/s in the ion stage is enough to transfer from LKO to Moho - including a large plane correction burn - to capture at Moho, correct the orbit around Moho, and to deorbit most of the way - it doesn't have enough TWR for a safe landing, inside or outside the Mohole.

Spoiler

 

 

Before I overshoot the Mohole or crash into its rim, I ditch the ion stage ans switch to the lander with its spark engine.

What follows is the decent, deeper and deeper into the lonely depths of the Mohole.

At some point the craft stops and the camera goes crazy, we have arrived. Switching off the engine and SAS lets the lander settle the last few cm. Time to run the experiments:

And to watch the sunset:

There are quite a few more screenshots in the imgur album: https://imgur.com/a/vOCxGhb

[mystifeid]

9 hours ago, AHHans said:

Time to run the experiments:

Don't you love how the Mohole is the fastest way to get from the North Pole to the South Pole.

[AHHans]

4 hours ago, mystifeid said:

Don't you love how the Mohole is the fastest way to get from the North Pole to the South Pole.

I actually didn't notice, I was still too full of adrenaline from trying not to crash during the descent. (There is a reason I have rubber bumpers on the feet of my lander.)

[Guest]

Congrats on Completing the challenge. Make sure to grab the patch at the OG post. Your final score is 205 and you might take first place if your's stay community favorite by 6/1/2020. Then your score will be 255!

(EDIT: Not 245 and 255 )

Edited May 17, 2020 by Guest

[EveMaster]

My MinimalisticTylo probe goes to the Tylo cave for only 8328 funds.

About the used mods: I used KER, Better time warp and MechJeb. I used Better time warp only to speed up the interplanetary transfers and not for the Tylo landing to stay fair. I used MechJeb only for the maneuver node editor. I executed all maneuvers myself and I did not use any other featue of Mechjeb.

In the VAB:

Landing stage weights only 625kg:

Lander stage has a dry mass of 200kg. Landed in the Tylo cave:

Full mission report with more images: https://imgur.com/gallery/jYc9iAN

Craft on KerbalX: https://kerbalx.com/EveMaster/MinimalisticTyloProbe

 

My points:

Launch: 10 points

Intersection: 5 points

Landed sucessfully: 20 points

Tylo: 50 points

Rocket size: 5 points (small)

Time: 10 points (Jool sytem)

Terrain: 5 points (1-5 degrees)

Land under the Tylo Cave: 30 points

Expanded lander: 80 70 points (Expanded because of Tylo cave landing? If not then hard difficulty lander).

Visit easter egg(Tylo cave): 10 points

Interplanetary lander: 20 points

Total: 215 235 points

Edited May 19, 2020 by EveMaster
Corrected points

[Guest]

Do you have more images? Because I would like to get some more for the update video? But don't worry this submission counts and there is also bonus points so let me calculate that as well. 

Also I can't tell what time it was when you landed on Tylo? Was it between 200 and 400 kerbin days?

Scratch that, found the gallery

Scratch that, no time limits on hard mode

Okay I have your final score at 235! Close one!

Expanded lander bonuses come from doing the expanded part of the challenge!

Edited May 17, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

On 5/14/2020 at 6:12 PM, aspacecephalopod said:

So I realized after the fact that MechJeb is totally specified as not allowed-whoops!

It's allowed

Sorry I must have missed your submission @aspacecephalopod But here is your final score at 205 points!