Not getting full science points

[alfrank]

So when I run science jr while in orbit it says I have 25 points for that experiment. But when I recover the vessel I only receive 8 points

[alfrank]

just tried again and this time I earned zero science

[Scarecrow71]

You can only gain so many science points in a given biome from a given experiment.  For example, if you run the science junior on the grasslands, you will get full science the first time, a percentage of full the second time, and 0 the last time.

Also keep in mind that you do not get full science points if you transmit the science back.  To get full amounts, you have to bring it back and recover without transmission. 

With that said, how many times are you trying to run the experiment at the same location?  And are you transmitting or recovering?

[alfrank]

Yes, I understand about the biomes and transmitting. I was running from a single location and recovering the vessel. Perhaps it was a spot where I ran the experiment before?

[Scarecrow71]

2 hours ago, alfrank said:

Yes, I understand about the biomes and transmitting. I was running from a single location and recovering the vessel. Perhaps it was a spot where I ran the experiment before?

That is the only thing I can think of.  You can go into R&D, and then click on Archives, and you will be able to see the biomes on every planet/moon that you have collected science at.  Very helpful when deciding where to land.

[alfrank]

Yes, I understand about the biomes and transmitting. I was running from a single location and recovering the vessel. Perhaps it was a spot where I ran the experiment before?

Where do I find R$D?

[Zhetaan]

2 hours ago, alfrank said:

Where do I find R$D?

On the main KSC screen, it's the complex that touches the VAB and the Astronaut Complex.  Here's the relevant wiki article:

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Research_and_Development

It's the same place where you research upgrades and new parts, but the archives are there, too, and you can select them with the button at the top left once you're in the tech tree.

On 7/24/2023 at 7:21 PM, alfrank said:

So when I run science jr while in orbit it says I have 25 points for that experiment. But when I recover the vessel I only receive 8 points

On 7/24/2023 at 7:38 PM, alfrank said:

just tried again and this time I earned zero science

22 hours ago, alfrank said:

Perhaps it was a spot where I ran the experiment before?

Almost certainly it was.  What you describe is the diminishing return of a science experiment run twice (three times, actually) in the same location.  When you're orbiting in Kerbin 's Low Space, the Science Jr. has a total of 32 base Science points available (with normal difficulty settings), but only allows you to recover 25 of those on the first run of the experiment.

The game then uses that fraction, 25 / 32, for each subsequent run of the experiment.  In this case, it's approximately 78%, so what that means is that every run of the Science Jr. in a location where you ran the experiment before will recover only 78% of the remaining Science.  The first time, you get 78% of 32, or 25 Science points.  That leaves 7.  The next time you run it, you get 78% of the remaining 7 Science points.  It goes to zero fairly quickly; as you discovered, there's not much point to running the Science Jr. a third time (at least, not in Kerbin's orbit; some places with very high science multipliers do make a third run worth a try).

Every experiment is different:  some give you all of their Science the first time.  Some give you less than 78%.  Some give more.

If it told you that you had 25 Science points coming to you, but then only awarded 8, then my guess for what caused that is that you had another Science Jr. that ran the same experiment in the same location, and you recovered it before the module that only gave you 8 Science.  That happens especially when you have both experiments flying at the same time:  KSP tells you that both are worth 25 points, even though only the first one is, because you haven't yet recovered either one and so it's not set in stone yet.

8 is a weird number to receive; 78% of 7 points is closer to 5.5 than 8.  The extra points could have come from craft recovery.

Anyway, it's easy enough of a problem to address:  run different experiments, or else run this experiment elsewhere.  If you take your rocket up to 250,000 m, then you'll reach High Space, which is a different location and for which the Science Jr. has a base number of 48 Science points (of which you should get 37.5 the first time).  There are many, many different combinations of altitude, celestial body, and other factors that affect the available Science.  Part of the point of the game is exploration, and this is one way that it encourages you to do that.

Have fun!

[alfrank]

Derp, never mind.found the archives

 

Thanks, Zhetaan. That clarifies things quite a bit