Moho Testing Ground

[Tarmenius]

So I'm finally planning a proper trip to Moho; one with a manned lander and a rover to leave behind. As I began developing the lander, I realized I have no idea how much gravity to account for. The lander I sent there before was unmanned and more powerful than it needed to be. Obviously, I want to take only as much weight as I absolutely have to, and have a TWR just high enough to get the job done. This led me to wonder what planet or moon might serve as a fair testing ground for this mission. Thanks for the input!

[Vanamonde]

Moho has a radius of 250km, while Mun's is 200. Not a great match, but probably close enough to make it a useful testing ground. Both lack atmospheres.

[tavert]

Moho's surface gravity is 2.7 m/s^2, the Mun's is only 1.63 m/s^2. As far as gravity is concerned, Duna is actually a closer match at 2.94 m/s^2, though Duna's atmosphere makes landing a bit easier than on Moho. The only other body in the Kerbol system in the range 1.7 to 7.8 is Vall, at 2.31 m/s^2.

The hardest part about Moho missions is capturing into Moho orbit since there's no atmosphere and your incoming transfer orbit will likely be going much faster than Moho when you get there. If you're patient enough to plan out more complicated maneuvers, you can use an Eve gravity assist to adjust your orbit. You want Eve's gravity to lower your solar apoapsis, with your periapsis near Moho, to reduce the cost of the capture burn.

[Tarmenius]

Thanks guys! I'd been there once before, so I know what a pain it is. That's why I wanted to take as little mass with me as I could get away with and still have enough power to land comfortably

But those numbers are very helpful, and I appreciate it.

[CalculusWarrior]

If you want to install mods, the Kerbal Engineer Redux has buttons that let you adjust for different planets' gravity, so you can see TWR, what your atmospheric delta-v would be, etc... I found it very useful when designing my Duna lander. Alternatively, you could use Hyperedit to do a 'simulation' by placing your lander into Moho orbit and trying to land.

[Splode]

Attach a gravioli sensor to your next moho probe. That's the fun way to find out about planets and moons! Otherwise just use the wiki