My plan for Jool

[yoyo478]

Now, the gas giant Jool raises some very interesting questions, but I've decided an easy way to find out. I have two ways to do this and one of them is very boring.

1. The "boring way": Use the docking mod to get a single piece of scrap out there, say, a decoupler. Achieve a failing orbit, jettison the scrap, then achieve a stable orbit again. Watch scrap fall in, then decide course of action.

2. The "hilarious way": Ironically, this way is actually more fuel efficient, to a degree. Send small, unmanned ship to Jool orbit with a simple rocket docked to it (A small fuel tank and engine, one man capsule). Make second huge ship with large, powerful lander. Dock with the lander ship, move a kerbal into small ship. Disconnect the small lander from the ship and plunge it strait into the atmosphere. If lander meets a solid, landable surface, prepare main ship to land. If it simply explodes, record alittude and begin to lower orbit until one is dangerously close to the lowest levels, to check the effects of the atmosphere on a larger ship.

And no, there is no easier way to do this.

Any other way is not kerbal.

[Trebuchet-Launch]

I am going with the "boring way", except I plan to detach a backwards-firing engine from a proper orbit.

[Tommygun]

You could go with third option.

"The sadistic way": send smallest manned rocket to Jool and order him to land, sit back and watch the results.

Science takes sacrifices, preferably someone Else's.

[CaptRobau]

Jool has been confirmed to have no landable surface (at least not without making indestructable parts, but when you land it'll probably glitch). Also, once your inside Jool's atmosphere wouldn't it be really hard to control your altitude and live? If you want to find the edge of where your ship explodes your already in relatively deep. You wouldn't be able to have enough Delta-V to nullify that much gravitational pull.

I like your adventurous spirit. Can't wait to see Jool myself either. Probably send a probe first, since that'll be much easier to get out that far compared to a manned lander.

[nhnifong]

Why not parachute into Jool? It's all atmosphere anyways. If the point of neutral buoyancy is above the point of explosion by overheating, then you can hold still in the atmosphere with no expenditure of energy,

[Tommygun]

Why not parachute into Jool? It's all atmosphere anyways. If the point of neutral buoyancy is above the point of explosion by overheating, then you can hold still in the atmosphere with no expenditure of energy,

That's my basic plan.

Make the smallest unmanned probe possible and attach the parachute with the highest drag.

I'll probably edit the part file to give it a crash tolerance of 80 or so to reflect it special construction for this type of mission.

[Whatshtisthis]

You can jettison lots of parts into Jool for more information, then again, I'll probably send a heavily fortified space station into Jool.

[Tommygun]

I suppose you could custom build a probe with each part having a different crash tolerance and note at what altitude each part implodes at.

Just make the parachute and command pod the highest.

[yoyo478]

You could go with third option.

"The sadistic way": send smallest manned rocket to Jool and order him to land, sit back and watch the results.

Science takes sacrifices, preferably someone Else's.

That is my way, sort of.

[JackAz]

Jool is a gas giant and it's nearly impossible for a gas giant to have a solid surface, there was a thread with few posts commenting jool's possible surface. Anyway before you could reach the surface, your lander would explode due to the extreme pressure.

[Quidoo]

I'm not sure if this has been addressed, but I know that the gas giants in our system have pretty incredible wind speeds. I think Neptune has the fastest, with winds over 1000mph. Do you we'll be finding similar winds on Jool? If so, I guess it would make the idea of using a parachute somewhat more difficult fun.

If we have turbulent winds (meaning varying pressures), do you think there may be places where the pressures and temperatures of the gas coincide in a way that allows for bands/belts of liquid to exist? This would probably be excruciating to model, but I'd love to find small, floating seas flying around in Jool's atmosphere, or just thin bands of liquid circling the planet.

Either way, my plan for Jool is going to be pretty boring. I'll likely go in for a descent that is as fast and shallow as possible. Or maybe I'll set up an orbit, and gradually lower the orbital radius whilst trying to pick up speed, just to get an idea of the numbers I'm expecting to need when I properly explore the whole system. If I find that winds rip the ship apart, I might send another probe into one of the poles with a parachute; just for a calmer, more smooshy death.

I'll send in one of my less favourable Kerbals though. For kicks. Joerim has let me down a few times recently, so err...sorry little guy. I imagine that with gravity that strong, even if you can find a surface, there's no coming up again.

[Tommygun]

No wind or weather in KSP yet, but is possibly planned towards the end.

I going with a slow descent myself so I can get a better idea of where the crush depth is.

[Derpinson]

You have to send a hot air balloon or a zeppelin.

[yoyo478]

No wind or weather in KSP yet, but is possibly planned towards the end.

I going with a slow descent myself so I can get a better idea of where the crush depth is.

Jeb does not approve.

[Vostok]

you'd not get neutral buoyancy with a parachute. It would have to be some kind of inflatable balloon-parachute to obtain buoyancy.

[TheDarkStar]

you'd not get neutral buoyancy with a parachute. It would have to be some kind of inflatable balloon-parachute to obtain buoyancy.

In real life, you hit a point of neutral buoyancy when the density of the fluid is equal to your density. A parachute (which is not very dense) would reach it quickly, but most things would take longer. However, in KSP, it can't happen, since it's not simulated.

Edited September 16, 2012 by TheDarkStar

[KingJeb]

My approach? Throw non-Bill/Bob/Jeb into it until I succeed! Simple as that

[opticalshadow]

pretty much going to send a ship there and see what happens.

kerbal scientific method 101

trial/error