Can deployed science experiments be picked up again after deployment?

[Kerolyov]

I can't work out (or find via search) how to pick up (using a Kerbal) a deployed science experiment or supporting solar panels etc after they are deployed.  Is this even possible?

Also can the science they have be collected by a Kerbal or does it have to be transmitted?

Edited June 6, 2021 by Kerolyov
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[jimmymcgoochie]

Yes, you can pick them up- just right click them then click "pick up". You can only do this if the Kerbal you are controlling has the room in their inventory- they need a space for it to go and the volume/mass for it to fit. If you pick it up when it's half way through an experiment, for example because you've levelled up a scientist and can get a faster data collection rate, it doesn't mean you'll get more than the maximum science cap- if the experiment produces 100 science in total and you've transmitted 40%, picking up and re-deploying will probably generate another 100% data but you'll only get another 60 science points for it.

The data needs to be transmitted back to be received, so packing a deployed dish can be useful for more distant targets; it's fairly powerful, but if you're going further than Duna you'll probably need relays to boost the signal back to Kerbin. There's nothing to stop you from landing a probe beside the deployed science setup with a big relay dish though, just bear in mind that you still need an unblocked line of sight to Kerbin so there'll be times when you can't send data back- relays will fix that as they do for any other mission.

[AHHans]

In addition to what @jimmymcgoochie said: IIRC picking up a deployed experiment transfers the collected by not yet transmitted data to the Kerbal. So if the experiment shut down after generating all science but didn't manage to transmit all (e.g. because of missing comnet connectivity), then I think you can collect the data that way.

[Kerolyov]

3 hours ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

Yes, you can pick them up- just right click them then click "pick up". You can only do this if the Kerbal you are controlling has the room in their inventory- they need a space for it to go and the volume/mass for it to fit. If you pick it up when it's half way through an experiment, for example because you've levelled up a scientist and can get a faster data collection rate, it doesn't mean you'll get more than the maximum science cap- if the experiment produces 100 science in total and you've transmitted 40%, picking up and re-deploying will probably generate another 100% data but you'll only get another 60 science points for it.

The data needs to be transmitted back to be received, so packing a deployed dish can be useful for more distant targets; it's fairly powerful, but if you're going further than Duna you'll probably need relays to boost the signal back to Kerbin. There's nothing to stop you from landing a probe beside the deployed science setup with a big relay dish though, just bear in mind that you still need an unblocked line of sight to Kerbin so there'll be times when you can't send data back- relays will fix that as they do for any other mission.

Thanks just realised the expt I was trying to pickup was too heavy if the kerbal also had a EVA jet pack hence why I couldn't work out how to pick it up even though I had a free slot!

Tested it at KSC and can pickup the expt if inventory empty