Grand Tour of Eeloo, Jool, Duna, Minmus, and the Mun!

[captainmatt]

Hello, my first time posting here...as a disclaimer, I'm not sure how spoiler tags work with all these pictures, but if it's a problem, I'll gladly edit if someone explains the proper way to go about it

So I decided today that I'd attempt to land Kerbals on Eeloo and return safely...but it turned into an adventure of even greater scope

Unfortunately, I didn't think to start taking screenshots until after reaching Eeloo. As it turns out, though, that was only the beginning.

Here, we have Lenfrod and Obford taking in the frigid sunset.

After rendezvous with Samley back in the orbiter, the remaining fuel is transferred from the lander (which is left in orbit for posterity). It doesn't look like there's a whole lot left...only about 2500m/s delta-v.

It took this much fuel and a Mun assist just to get this far:

Realizing they may not get home unless they get inventive, they break orbit to align roughly with Jool's orbital plane, hoping for a fortuitous gravity assist down the road.

Alas, it seems they can manage a burn which will put them on a transfer orbit to Kerbin at a cost of only 300m/s!

After years in deep space living on recycled air and Jebediah's Country-Style Gruel-Flavored Extra-Long-Lasting Emergency Rations, the crew finally makes their flyby of Jool, but still dangerously low on fuel. Will they make Kerbin intercept?

It doesn't appear that Kerbin will be accessible with this departure window...but maybe there's another way.

With some relatively minor corrections, it seems possible to rendezvous with Duna! There, an orbital fuel depot holds the promise of returning home. It may not be that easy to reach, however.

After a completely suicidal daring and heroic aerocapture maneuver, an Ike flyby, and numerous corrective burns, the crew finally reaches safety with only drops left in their fuel tanks. Now, to refuel and return home...but wouldn't it be a shame, after visiting so many worlds, not to see just a few more before retirement?

It seems Shep and Maclo, having served the Duna colony for several years, are up for reassignment to the newly-founded Mun base, as the Duna surface operations are getting a bit crowded. If conditions permit, a Minmus visit might also be in order. They wait for the next launch window home...

As it happens, a Minmus encounter will require relatively little correction!

Now to drop off the sightseers at their new digs:

Maclo decides to check out the local architecture...

...while Shep meets the welcoming party.

The original crew prepares for their penultimate destination, the Kerbal Space Station, where they will disembark and return home in a crew transfer vehicle.

As they prepare to disembark, they get one last look at the ship that has served them well for over a decade now, and will continue to serve others in the years to come.

I'm sure they could all use showers about now.