Been a while since I played, Got a question..

[Talavar]

There seems to be almost no activity (very low, atleast) in addon discussions lately so I'm posting here about my "KSPI (interstellar)" question.
I just started playing again recently after a long hiatus due to an absolute horrid health issue which rendered me useless for what seemed like forever...  Well, I'm finally on the mend, but mods have changed, and I've forgotten some things. I'm remembering most as I go, but If I recall, you could put a science lab in orbit around Jool or other bodies and auto generate science... Is this still a thing? IF it is, is there a certain lab I use, or specific requirements I have to meet? I'd really appreciate it if someone could give me a brief rundown, I can't seem to find any tutorials.

Edited February 3, 2021 by Talavar

[Superfluous J]

The Mobile Processing Lab doesn't give free science, but it may as well

You send it somewhere, then get some science data and put it in the lab, and "process" it. you need 1 or 2 scientists in the lab and something controlling the ship (probe core or another Kerbal of any type in a command pod).

The details are as boring as they are full of minutiae and I frankly don't know them. Where you are determines how much "actual" science you get per science point processed, but in practice if you have a lab ANYWHERE it PUKES SCIENCE like it's going out of style. You could take one to Jool, but one in orbit of Minmus is just fine for filling out the tech tree.

[InfernoSD]

The one other thing with the Mobile Processing Lab is that it doesn't send back science automatically. You have to manually take control of the vessel and hit transmit. There's a maximum capacity for science, so it eventually stops sciencing until you hit transmit. You'll also want an appropriate antenna to transmit with and a few batteries for the massive amount of electricity that will take. Of course the lab itself also consumes electricity over time, so bring some solar panels.

[Snark]

Moving to Gameplay Questions.