Duna Exploration, Launch Window 1

[MaverickSawyer]

Recently, I made my first attempt at an unmanned mission to Duna. I launched a lander and an orbiter separated by about 30 minutes at departure. Sadly, the orbiter did not make the intercept yet, however it used up a good portion of it's fuel supply in an attempt to give a second chance at SoI change and capture.

The lander was much more successful. I succeeded at adjusting the orbit to use an aerocapture, then performed a few small burns to set up the final orbit and landing. THe landing itself was uneventful. However, I wound up landing on a steep slope, and my lander began to slide downhill at speeds approaching 15 m/s.

Then I hit a bump.

Landing legs failed, engines and fuel tanks exploded, antennae crushed... it was horrible. It's my Mars 3 mission: Land, transmit a short bit of info, then fail.

The next transfer window opens in about 100 days. I'll be much more prepared.

[Scotius]

Lift-off and landing are two most dangerous parts of any flight. Don't be discouraged by fails - learn from them and push forward

[MaverickSawyer]

Oh, I fully intend to. Now I just need to wait for the next window to open. This time, I am going big. REALLY big.

In the meantime, I have a mission bound for Jool, and a base that I just landed on Minmus that I need to drop a rover off at.