Chaos is a ladder...

[ManEatingApe]

 

Transport a Kerbal from the surface of Kerbin to the surface of another celestial body, alive and intact, without putting them in a pod, command chair, claw or inflatable airlock.

Using your ingenuity and creativity, cram them into a cargo bay, shove into a service module, latch onto a ladder, entrain in an enclosure or otherwise unofficially bring them along for the ride.

Scoring
The further your can push, pull, poke, prod and propel your Kerbal the more points and glory awaits. Each celestial body scores the following points:

Minmus	10
Mun	20
Duna	40
Ike	20
Eve	60
Gilly	20
Dres	80
Eeloo	90
Moho	100
Laythe	110
Vall	20
Tylo	160
Bop	10
Pol	10

• Points for landing on celestial bodies are cumulative. The more bodies you land on, the more points you score.
• There is a 5 point bonus for bringing more than 1 Kerbal along outside a pod. This is not cumulative, 5 points no matter how many extra Kerbals.

Rules

• As a convenience, your Kerbal may start aboard the craft normally when launching from VAB or SPH, however they must EVA from the craft before staging any engines.
• For the entire duration of the mission, your Kerbal should be a separate physics object (you can switch between them and the ship using the [ and ] keys)
• Returning your Kerbal to Kerbin is purely optional and not part of the challenge, although it may help you sleep at night.
• Your craft can be controlled normally by other Kerbals in a pod or by a probe core. CommNet is optional.
• Use as many or as few craft as you like e.g. the craft from surface to orbit could be different from the orbital transfer craft
• Stock and DLC parts only
• Mods that don't modify physics such as KER, MechJeb, Kerbal Alarm Clock, visual and audio mods are allowed.
• Keep it clean - no Kraken drives, drain thrust valve exploits, looking for loopholes or other shenanigans
• Post pictures or video of your attempt

Leaderboard

1. @RoninFrog Multiple robotic "klaws" pushed a Kerbal all the way to Tylo. 160 points.
2. @Hdeedose One Kerbal safely conveyed to the the Mun. 20 points.
3. @Vanamonde One Kerbal "bowled" from LKO to Minmus. 10 points.

Edited June 7, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[Regor]

9 minutes ago, ManEatingApe said:

Transport a Kerbal from the surface of Kerbin to the surface of another celestial body, without putting them in a pod, command chair, claw or inflatable airlock.

Using your ingenuity and creativity, cram them into a cargo bay, shove into a service module, latch onto a ladder, entrain in a an enclosure or otherwise unofficially bring them along.

Scoring
The further your can push, pull, poke, prod and propel your Kerbal the more points and glory awaits. Each celestial body scores the following points:

Minmus	10
Mun	20
Duna	40
Ike	20
Eve	60
Gilly	20
Dres	80
Eeloo	90
Moho	100
Laythe	110
Vall	20
Tylo	160
Bop	10
Pol	10

• Points for landing on celestial bodies are cumulative. The more bodies you land on, the more points you score.
• There is a 5 point bonus for bringing more than 1 Kerbal along outside a pod. This is not cumulative, 5 points no matter how many extra Kerbals.

Rules

• As a convenience, your Kerbal may start aboard the craft normally when launching from VAB or SPH, however they must EVA from the craft before staging any engines.
• For the entire duration of the mission, your Kerbal should be a separate physics object (you can switch between them and the ship using the [ and ] keys)
• Your craft can be controlled normally by other Kerbals in a pod or by a probe core. CommNet is optional.
• Stock and DLC parts only
• Mods that don't modify physics such as KER, MechJeb, Kerbal Alarm Clock, visual and audio mods are allowed.
• Keep it clean - no Kraken drives, drain thrust valve exploits, looking for loopholes or other shenanigans
• Post pictures or video of your attempt

No need to bring them back?

[ManEatingApe]

11 minutes ago, mabdi36 said:

No need to bring them back?

Nope! It is completely up to your own sense of ethics (or lack thereof) if want to return your unfortunate Kerbal or if they become a permanent colonist.

That's a good question, I've updated the rules.

Edited June 1, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[RealKerbal3x]

@ManEatingApe There's another challenge that goes along with this that you might not have thought of - the game doesn't let you quicksave if you have a Kerbal on a ladder. That could potentially make this even harder

I may give this a go. No promises though, I may end up distracted by other things as usually happens when I say I want to do a challenge

[ManEatingApe]

8 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

@ManEatingApe There's another challenge that goes along with this that you might not have thought of - the game doesn't let you quicksave if you have a Kerbal on a ladder. That could potentially make this even harder...

100%. No timewarping on ladders is the core of the challenge - you'll have to figure out how to bring your Kerbal along with (or near) the ship!
 

[Superfluous J]

This sounds ghastly. I may have to give it a try.

I'm seeing an initial phase of setting up infrastructure to toss and catch Kerbals on an interplanetary scale. What could go wrong?

[ManEatingApe]

52 minutes ago, Superfluous J said:

I'm seeing an initial phase of setting up infrastructure to toss and catch Kerbals on an interplanetary scale. What could go wrong?

I didn't actually think of using more than one craft...what a great idea!

Updated the rules to make it explicit that this is allowed, nay encouraged.

[Jacke]

You didn't list the points for Kerbol.

[Jacke]

...or the points for Jool.  Should be less than the points for Kerbol.  It's a shame, I don't think it's possible to get both on the same Kerbal.

[ManEatingApe]

28 minutes ago, Jacke said:

...or the points for Jool.  Should be less than the points for Kerbol.  It's a shame, I don't think it's possible to get both on the same Kerbal.

Well, I did debate internally whether to include Dres or not...

Edited June 1, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[Jacke]

6 hours ago, ManEatingApe said:

Well, I did debate internally whether to include Dres or not...

Poor Dres, never gets any respect.  Not as distant as Eeloo.  Not as tricky as Moho.

How about points for returning the Kerbal(s) to Kerbin?  Say again the largest amount of points from one object plus 10 per second and later bodies achieved?

And points for the Kerbal(s) surviving the last landing?  You've added 5 for bringing along more than one free-range Kerbals.  So, how about 2 points for surviving the last landing?

Guess we should get a clarification.  You get points for a body even if achieved by lithobraking?

[sevenperforce]

Exciting challenge!

I just tested what I thought would be the straightforward Kerbal-protecting re-entry solution -- a ladder inside a service bay in the lee of an inflatable heat shield -- and it didn't even slightly help. So back to the drawing board.

[ManEatingApe]

51 minutes ago, Jacke said:

How about points for returning the Kerbal(s) to Kerbin?  Say again the largest amount of points from one object plus 10 per second and later bodies achieved?

They say variety is the spice of life...I want to encourage our intrepid Kerbal to see as many new sights as possible, by keeping the scoring geared towards visiting as many celestial bodies as possible.

51 minutes ago, Jacke said:

And points for the Kerbal(s) surviving the last landing?  You've added 5 for bringing along more than one free-range Kerbals.  So, how about 2 points for surviving the last landing?

Guess we should get a clarification.  You get points for a body even if achieved by lithobraking?

Nice try...I guess "transport" was slightly ambiguous! Rules clarified that the Kerbal should be alive and intact. Psychological trauma is still an option.

22 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

Exciting challenge!

I just tested what I thought would be the straightforward Kerbal-protecting re-entry solution -- a ladder inside a service bay in the lee of an inflatable heat shield -- and it didn't even slightly help. So back to the drawing board.

I look forward to seeing what inventive heat protection you can come up with!

Edited June 1, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[sevenperforce]

On the positive side, I just sent Bill to LKO easily, standing on top of a capsule with nothing whatsoever protecting him (and not even any ladder in sight).

[Superfluous J]

1 hour ago, ManEatingApe said:

They say variety is the spice of life...I want to encourage our intrepid Kerbal to see as many new sights as possible, by keeping the scoring geared towards visiting as many celestial bodies as possible.

I support this position. Makes including Eve on a potential "go absolutely everywhere" mission less daunting.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Superfluous J

[ManEatingApe]

49 minutes ago, Superfluous J said:

Makes including Eve on a potential "go absolutely everywhere" mission less daunting.

What you're planning terrifies me...in a good way!

[sevenperforce]

After a lot of testing, I have determined that it is most likely impossible to protect a Kerbal from re-entry unless the Kerbal is at least in a seat. The heating code doesn't realize there is anything blocking the heat and so the Kerbal gets torched even inside fairings and wrapped in heat shields.

Doesn't mean you can't do it; just means you have to do propulsive entry, which is expensive.

[ManEatingApe]

3 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

After a lot of testing, I have determined that it is most likely impossible to protect a Kerbal from re-entry unless the Kerbal is at least in a seat. The heating code doesn't realize there is anything blocking the heat and so the Kerbal gets torched even inside fairings and wrapped in heat shields.

Doesn't mean you can't do it; just means you have to do propulsive entry, which is expensive.

Propulsive braking is a solid option. Depending on the planet, there might even be enough dV in the Kerbal's jetpack alone.

@Pds314 had success using a fairing open at one end (through some tricky offsetting) to protect Kerbals from reentry heat in the Community Caveman Jool 5 Challenge. Link to post

The game seems to model heat occlusion if something is inside the fairing collider, even if not connected to the craft.

Edited June 3, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[sevenperforce]

16 hours ago, ManEatingApe said:

Propulsive braking is a solid option. Depending on the planet, there might even be enough dV in the Kerbal's jetpack alone.

Are we allowed to enter and exit capsules to get more dV?

16 hours ago, ManEatingApe said:

@Pds314 had success using a fairing open at one end (through some tricky offsetting) to protect Kerbals from reentry heat in the Community Caveman Jool 5 Challenge. Link to post

The game seems to model heat occlusion if something is inside the fairing collider, even if not connected to the craft.

Ooh, that's a good idea. I did a BUNCH of warp-translating inside of even very giant fairings, with no success (the fairing collider always smears them). I also tried using a structural tube that would slide open and shut, but no success there either. Let me see what I can do with an unclipped fairing.

[Jacke]

9 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

Ooh, that's a good idea. I did a BUNCH of warp-translating inside of even very giant fairings, with no success (the fairing collider always smears them). I also tried using a structural tube that would slide open and shut, but no success there either. Let me see what I can do with an unclipped fairing.

As I remember from time warping during the Community Caveman (and that was only for short distances on Kerbin approach), the free-range Kerbals will pass through the spacecraft.  If you exit warp while things are "interlaced", bad things happen, usually flinging the Kerbals away.  The players who handled the interplanetary stages would have to comment, but I think it was easier to allow the spacecraft and free-range Kerbal to transit in warp independently, then have the spacecraft rendezvous with the Kerbal and take them into confinement again for maneuvers like mid-course corrections.

[sevenperforce]

1 minute ago, Jacke said:

As I remember from time warping during the Community Caveman (and that was only for short distances on Kerbin approach), the free-range Kerbals will pass through the spacecraft.  If you exit warp while things are "interlaced", bad things happen, usually flinging the Kerbals away.  The players who handled the interplanetary stages would have to comment, but I think it was easier to allow the spacecraft and free-range Kerbal to transit in warp independently, then have the spacecraft rendezvous with the Kerbal and take them into confinement again for maneuvers like mid-course corrections.

Yes, that's my experience (and plan) as well.

Under testing, being inside the fairing collider via a clipped/translated opening doesn't seem to help. Jeb still blows up.

[ManEatingApe]

4 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

Are we allowed to enter and exit capsules to get more dV?

I'm afraid not - carefully managing your Kerbal's jetpack delta-v budget is part of the challenge!

Your Kerbal cannot be enter any kind of pod once you stage from Kerbin's surface. Relevant section from rules here:

On 6/1/2020 at 10:27 AM, ManEatingApe said:

For the entire duration of the mission, your Kerbal should be a separate physics object (you can switch between them and the ship using the [ and ] keys)

As a general tip, there's great research on the best way to keep a Kerbal and ship close together when time-warping over interplanetary distances in this thread:

Edited June 4, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[Hdeedose]

I DID IT !!! I went to the Mun ! It was not an easy task .

Spoiler

Jebediah gets ready to enter the rocket

Now , he just have to wait .

Ejection of elevator .

And ... LAUNCH !

Here is the rocket in space .

And in orbit .

From this point on , the real challenge started . Jebediah was moving like crazy , and I didn't had any sleeping pill . But him , he certainly took dopamin before the launch , because he was pushing the rocket so hard it was in road to enter the atmosphere . But I didn't noticed , because we can't warp when a kerbal is on a ladder , I went away 30 minutes to come close to my maneuver node . Hopefully , I noticed what was going on before entering the atmosphere and I went back into orbit , and I made him leave his seat to plan a maneuver node properly .

Then I time warped to the mun . But Jebediah used this time distortion to teleport out of his cargo bay . I made him come back .

I figured out that , when I use my rocket engine , I should glue Jebediah to the ladder , and when I just wait , I should let him out . After that , everything went smoothly .

I went into orbit .

Then I de-orbited .

Landed , and planted the flag .

VICTORY

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by Hdeedose

[ManEatingApe]

On 6/4/2020 at 3:33 PM, sevenperforce said:

Under testing, being inside the fairing collider via a clipped/translated opening doesn't seem to help. Jeb still blows up.

Update from the Community Caveman Thread - it looks like fairing heat protection shenanigans have been fixed in the latest version of the game.
Please disregard any of my previous comments about the possibility. Propulsive landing for the win!

7 hours ago, Hdeedose said:

I DID IT !!! I went to the Mun ! It was not an easy task .

Hooray! You are the first to successfully complete the challenge. Have 20 well-earned points and go straight to the top of the leader board.

I liked your use of airbrakes to contain your Kerbal on the ladder inside the service bay.

Edited June 5, 2020 by ManEatingApe

[Vanamonde]

The problem:  it's too far to travel in real time, but if you warp you will lose contact with your craft. 
The solution: dispense with the craft so there's nothing to lose contact with, then warp to your heart's content. 

Step 1: Jeb boards the craft, then leaves the command seat but remains contained by the service bay. 
 

Step 2s: Jeb burns up several times on ascent. Revert and throttle back until he avoids incineration. 

Step 3: Set course with the craft's engines and guidance, then release Jeb. 
 

Step 4: Warp. 
 

Step 5: Use backpack RCS to enter orbit and then set a descent. 

Step 6: Impact the surface and bounce. 
 

Step 7: Bounce some more. 
 

Step 8: Come to rest with success. 
 

Step 9: Start thinking about how to get back.