On the Surface

[LePenguino]

If a planet or moon has no atmosphere for aerobraking, then bringing anything to its surface (and hopefully back home, which I'm not very good at), can cost a significant amount of delta-v.

In my space program, I only bring landers or rovers to the surface of bodies (omitting the vast fields of debris from my crashes). I've seen videos of huge bases on other worlds, but I haven't the time nor motivation to build and land one of them.

So, what do you bring to the surface of planets, besides the classic lander or rover? What are the possibilities/ideas?

Edited July 4, 2013 by LePenguino
typo

[KerbMav]

I pack my bag and I bring along:

- the landing stage/fuel tanks

will normally remain on the surface and the command module will go back up with only a returning stage - less fuel needed

- some sensors, power supply and antennae (for immersion as they do nothing as of now) to stay (with the landing stage)

- a flag

[stupid_chris]

Bases. Although I did a few times, I'm not a fan of sending 10 rockets to build a modular base, so I usually just launch the base as one big bloc and land it. Pack it with a few rovers and I have fun around.

[Sigma117]

If I land a base, it's usually just a one launch thing, 200-300 parts as needed. Just send it down on a booster, and slowly land. Then thrust up the engines, and detach them to...remove them :3

[Whackjob]

This I've managed.

This I'm still working on getting to the Mun.

[Catullus]

Now that's what I call a rover.

[Scotius]

No, it's called a crawler Because i strongly doubt you can get even a fraction of normal rover speed on uneven terrain, without this thing shaking itself apart.

[LePenguino]

Wow.... these make my tiny landers look really bad.

I can't stop looking at that giant roving base.

[Sof]

I don't bother with bases or giant slow moving rovers. It takes ages to do, is full of repetative tasks and you essentially end up with the same amount of entertainment as you would have just sending a small 1 man rover down.

There is bugger all to do once you've landed besides drive a short way. May as well make that slightly more fun by building a racecar. The lander just needs to be big enough to get down and back up again.

[LePenguino]

I don't bother with bases or giant slow moving rovers. It takes ages to do, is full of repetative tasks and you essentially end up with the same amount of entertainment as you would have just sending a small 1 man rover down.

There is bugger all to do once you've landed besides drive a short way. May as well make that slightly more fun by building a racecar. The lander just needs to be big enough to get down and back up again.

Yeah, I can see your logic there.

Racecars are fun because once you land, there is literally nowhere to go except for an easter egg that can be hundreds of kilometers away (I think?)

So it's fun to speed around, unless you build fast rovers like me, a.k.a. Scattering various parts around the mun's surface.

[joppiesaus]

Probes or ships with useless communnication stuff and to many power.

[Catullus]

I don't bother with bases or giant slow moving rovers. It takes ages to do, is full of repetative tasks and you essentially end up with the same amount of entertainment as you would have just sending a small 1 man rover down.

There is bugger all to do once you've landed besides drive a short way. May as well make that slightly more fun by building a racecar. The lander just needs to be big enough to get down and back up again.

But it's building insane creations and the ships that can get them to other planets that *is* the entertainment! For me, at least. Remember it's a sandbox game and different people get different things out of it.

[Whackjob]

But it's building insane creations and the ships that can get them to other planets that *is* the entertainment! For me, at least. Remember it's a sandbox game and different people get different things out of it.

I second that. I've still failed getting that rover into orbit, but I'm oh-so-much-closer now. Tomorrow I put a fourth stage on it and try again.

[Travisfv]

Did anyone think to bring snacks down to the surface?

[Richy teh space man]

I've practised building a base on the Mun in preparation for a base on either Vall or Moho, Vall for science and Moho for the challenge.

[Stelith61]

I've recently started making small ion planes to assist with manned exploration of Duna's surface, and I hear something about jets working on Laythe, but I've yet to have the motivation to try it legitimately as I'd much rather focus on Vall.

[el_coyoto]

I like bringing roving bases : less boring than regular bases and slightly more useful than a rover...

They provide a bit of "realism" to my space program when I leave Kerbals for months on a cold, dead rock by providing a little bit more room than a cramped capsule.

This one is ugly and needs refining, but it performs well. And it can fly too!