Oceans of Eve / The city on the Mun

[Tw1]

 

 

Welcome!

This is the tale of a Mun base, an Eve mission, and the politics that link them. There are twists, deals,  and weird kerbal things to come,

(Old Intro paragraph):

Spoiler

This is a two pronged story and mission report, focusing a long term Eve mission, the activities of a Mun base, and the politics that link them.
Originally started in KSP's alpha stage, it will be completed in KSP1, and near the end might even use a little KSP2...
It takes some influence from other AARs, such as czokletmuss's Voyage to the planets, and Brotoro's Laythe Saga.
It is the story following on from (very old) The Space Centre Reborn!,  but really stands on its own.

For now, I have just a little teaser/intro for you, so let's get started!

 

 

* * *

Chapter One: That's a No Go

 

KSC. (This will be how I set the location for each bit of story. Maybe not all the time.)

Gene Kerman stood by the window, watching as the Mission Control building dangled in mid air.

Any other day, he'd down there supervising the renovations, but today he was expecting an important call.

Building relocations proceeded without him. The call would be any minute now....

*brbring bbrbrring*

He picked up the phone:

Kerbal on phone: "May I please speak to mission planner Gene Kerman?"

Gene (answering): "Hello Dad. What was the ruling? Are the United Nations of Kerbin willing to let the mission proceed?"

Gene's Dad: "Unfortunately, I have bad news. Not enough of the other members were convinced sending someone to Eve was at all a good idea. I did my best. A ruling was made that no one shall leave Kerbin for a landing on Eve. The dangers at the surface were ruled too great."

Gene let out an audible sigh. Sending someone to Eve on a long term exploration mission had long been a dream of his. Yet going against a direct ruling of the UN could have some messy legal consequences...

Gene's Dad: "Son, I'm going to say that once again, so listen carefully: No one shall leave Kerbin for a landing on Eve."

...

"So how's that Mun Base coming along?"

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Chapter archive thingie!

(Archives are the best chives.)

 

Chapter One: That's a No Go

Part 1(You're looking at it.)

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Chapter Two: Cloudy, with a chance of boiling to death! and Operation Craters.

Part1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

 Chapter Three: Storm - The rise of the Mun

 

The story so far: 

Spoiler

A quick summary: 

It is the near future. Kerbals have made their first steps, and found footholds on both of Kerbin's moons. 
All the rocky planets have been walked on - except Eve.

With toxic clouds, high heat, pressure, and gravity, and currently no feasible method of return,  the authorities refuse to authorise a mission to that planet. 
KSC, eager to continue their record of historic firsts, rebels and makes a  secret deal with the semi independent Mun Prograde City. Exploiting a loophole, the mission proceeds, with all the backlash falling on MPC.

Explorer-Astronaut Watsan Kerman arrives on Eve, and establishes himself. On the way, he discovers he's not entirely alone in his mobile amphibious base.
On the Mun, city Leader Dontop Kerman becomes increasingly erratic, trying to prove the Mun base's worth through ambitious missions. The base attempts to survive on its own, and solve the mystery of the craters ( which suddenly appeared after an update to the game)
Meanwhile on Eve, Watsan and his pet have just had a bit of an accident. A potentially deadly accident.....

 

Important Recurring Characters: 

 

Watsan - The guy sent to Eve

Dontop - Prograde City's appointed leader

Seetop - Dontop's Brother, second in command 

Joefel & Mallie - Scientists from Prograde city 

Jeb, Bill, Bob- appearing as themselves, celebrity astronauts currently working for Prograde City

Gene  & Wernher - You know them.  Here, they're basically running  KSC. 

Gene's Dad (Alfene) - An important politician 

 

 

If you just wish to get onto the story, I'm putting less essential mission moments in spoiler tags. Please note you may miss out some details if you skip those though.

Edited September 13, 2019 by Tw1
I'm not dead yet!

[DJEN]

You're doing well so far. But, be aware of what you're writing about. There are lots of different ways you can ruin everything. You know.

[Commissioner Tadpole]

Looks promising.

[Tw1]

 

Narrating a bit here. I intend to switch between this, and script style dialogue.

So, officially, the Eve One Project was shelved. However, the reality was quite a different story....

The history of Mun Prograde City.

A vision for a city on the Mun first emerged in the late 19th era, long before the strange appearance of craters in the 21st: 

Spoiler

 

Though the initial planning had to be redone from the start, by the dawn of the 22nd era, it had become quite an establishment.

A permanent town of about 50, the Mun prograde city sits just north of the Mun's prograde point- effectively pointing forward, as the Mun orbits Kerbin.

Such a location was chosen mainly because it was awesome. That, and someone once thought there'd be some advantage in launching from there.

"Because it is awesome" is not always a bad reason -after all, that was why kerbals first tried out rockets.

However, it can lead to certain uh, oversights.

As you can see, while the base has plenty of access to ore for actually building things, the nearest Kethane deposit is over 50km away.

Initially, kerbals experimented with unconventional technologies, hopping to transport the kethane resource to the base with high efficiency:

Note from the future: This mod never was completed. 

But this technology was a long way from spaceworthy. The decision was made that kethane would continue to be delivered to the Base, and the new Mun Space Center using rockets. For now.

Over time, the Mun base expanded. Jebediah himself set up a part storage complex- with a storage capacity of a few hundred tons.

Later, teams including Edrod, Wilhat, Samlan, and Mallie Kerman, performed structural enhancements, and other added complex systems.

Very complex, and high tech, this recycling bin.

The new space center on the Mun took shape, ready to launch missions of its own.

 

So who are we sending to Eve?

Eve is a harsh place, and that's an understatement. Yet when KSC asked for volunteers for a one way trip, a surprising amount signed up.

There were several hundred willing kerbals, but one stood out far above the rest.

Meet Watsan Kerman.

Geochemist. Mountaineer.

Two time winner of the Annual Kerbin Regata. (Sure, it was only because all the other boats sank, but that's the kind of skill you want on Eve right?)

He also really, really, likes the colour purple.

I can assure you the inside of that house is mostly purple. This is a publicity shot, him trying on his first space suit.

One thing makes him particularly suited for this Eve mission:

At the moment, he happily lives the life of a hermit, alone in the southern mountains, rarely making contact with other kerbals.

In a few weeks time, KSC will send a plane to the edge of the mountains to pick him up, and take him back to KSC where he will gain some space flight experience. He'll need it, that's for sure.

90 days until the Eve window...

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by Tw1

[Tw1]

* * *

There are lots of ways to explore a planet. Just walking would be the most intimate, and the fastest in Eve's case, would be a plane with electric propellers and/or kethane jets. But the aim of this mission is to investigate the oceans.

So what are we going to Eve with?

I call it the Eve Oceans Explorer.

Been working on it for a while, so you may have seen it around.

Evepod, for short.

Specially tested for Evian conditions, it runs fine carrying twice its own weight. It has driving wheels and reinforcing wheels (landing gear), a glass bottom, backup systems, and it is capable of steady sailing at 15m/s, at 4x physics warp. This may not sound like much, but that's equivalent to 200km in an hour of gameplay time, and should be fine for touring Eve's island chains.

Of course, you've got to get it there first.

KSC began an extensive series of tests:

All this activity didn't go unnoticed.

Some young boy: "Hey, look up there! There's something on fire!"

KSC's latest tour guide: "Yes, that is, uh, an amphibious Laythe explorer, for possible future visits. We're working on landing sequences today."

Boy's younger sister: "Oh my gosh, you're going to Laythe?! This will be just like in-"

Young boy (interrupting): " But why is the heat shield so big? My book says Laythe has a thinner atmosphere than Kerbin, and you don't have those on other rockets."

Tour guide: "Yes, but it's also got to survive an aerocapture at Jool, which generates a lot of heat. You need a big shield there."

Boy (looking up): "But the engines just came of with the heat shield! Wouldn't it make sense to drop the heavy shield after Jool, then land on Laythe with something lighter?"

Tour guide: "You're a smart kid. I'm sure the engineers have their reasons. If you study hard, maybe one day, you'll be able to work here-- (looks up) Oh my Squad... We've got incoming! Everybody run! RUN!"

* * *

Donvey was chosen to pick up Watsan Kerman, as he'd flown a VTOL once or twice before, and that was the only way to get to him. He landed at "Waoboaler ridge" in the mid morning:

Watsan: "Uh, h-hi. You are from KSC, then?"

Donvey: "That's me! Lovely place you've got here."

Wastan: "Y-yes. You will find fuel over there, we will leave in 6 minutes. "

Donvey: "Um, Ok?"

Watsan inspected the aircraft, a modified Fn-135, RocketTurtle brand.

Watsan: "I take it the external seat is for me?"

Donvey: "Yeah, mission planning says you've got to prove you've got the right stuff, if you're going to survive on Eve,"

Watsan: "It will be adequate."

Donvey may not be the greatest pilot ever...

Donvey: "So, what's it like, living in the antarctic?"

Watsan: "Comfortable".

Donvey: "Ah... got any family?"

Wastan: "Two sisters, parents deceased."

Donvey: "Sad to hear it.

Donvey: "So, what made you want do go to Eve? Not the nice weather I presume?

Watsan: "Simple. I have beaten all of Kerbin's environments. Forest, deasurt, tundra.. I survived all of them. Eve presents an entirely new challenge."

So Watsan joined the Kerbal Space Program. To anyone else, he would've been just another astronaut. But his training specifically put him with KSC's most experienced planet explorers, to give him the best chance possible on Eve.

Have a training montage:

30 days until Eve window...

Edited August 10, 2019 by Tw1

[Tw1]

KSC launched a special probe, loaded with gear to assist the mission. Again, the official story was to prepare for a mission to Laythe.

It is packed with tools, supplies, and with sensors waiting to gather data on Eve- during a gravity assist that is. It only took KSC one extra visit to add things they neglected to install before launch. Things like the transmission equipment...

The Minmus Institute of Science also made a launch.

Somewhat disappointed with KSC's apparent underutilisation of the Eve window, they launched a probe of their own, bound for Gilly. It would be the first proper investigation of that tiny moon.

Then, it was time to wait.

* * *

KSC

Three days before eve window...

Matdas Kerman: "What sort of rocket is that?! Isn't that a mainsail on the transfer stage?"

Kerrick Keman: "And each stage has solid rocket boosters, even that upper stage... Huh?"

Scott kerman: "You are correct in your observations. This is a Soprano Seven, a vintage model from the early days of rocket science. Before we knew about orbits, and all that."

Matdas: "But isn't this rocket for Watsan? You know, (whispering) the Eve guy?"

Scott:" Yeah, mission control wanted to give him a challenge.(whispering) If he can fly this thing, he'll be fine living on Eve."

Watsan's trip to the Mun

Spoiler

I literally pulled this straight from my old copy of 0.18.4. I remember rescuing a lot of stranded Kerbals in "Soprano" class capsules, but at the moment, not even I am certain that this flight will make it to the Mun. But Kerbals like to live dangerously.

Update:

When the Mun was right overhead, the Soprano's engines roared to life.

As he rose, Watsan turned the ship to get one last look over Kerbin's plains and mountains.

Unfortunately, this threw the rocket of corse.

Immediately, Watsan went to respond

No gravity turn this time, we're doing this with brute force.

When it came to staging the rocket, Watsan decided to use the manual controls, rather than the staging button.

Seriously, why are there decouplers pointing straight at the next stage's engine? Some sort of practical joke?

No idea what they were for.

A few more dramatic staging events later, and he was well on his way to the Mun.

But then, we had a problem. "Transfer" stage was out of fuel, and the trajectory misses the Mun by miles.

So Watsan made use of all that otherwise useless monopropellant in the transfer stage.

Then, with a final burst of thrust from the lander stage's many engines, he was on course for Mun.

And all that debris is set to burn up in Kerbins atmosphere. Convenient.

 

Edited August 10, 2019 by Tw1

[Tw1]

Watsan performed a capture burn of about 300m/s, followed by a plane change of another 300m/s. This left him with half the lander's fuel remaining. From this, he estimated he had about 650m/s left, and gave himself the go ahead to land.

Lacking high tech niceties like mechjeb and kerbal engineer, Watsan had to find another way to land with precision. Putting the ship into a very low orbit, he waited until the markers of Prograde City were visible in his helmet HUD.

Unfortunately, his trajectory didn't pass right over his destination. Watsan burned, trying to get closer, but the high TWR of the lander made it hard to make small changes, so he settled for a spot near by. Then, he heard the sound of the engines flaming out. Out of fuel!

Only one thing to do.

A very traditional landing for that class of vessel. But, he was now on the Mun, and just a short hop away from the base.

In the background, you can see the twin prograde peaks. The Mun's orbit line passes between them.

* * *

Inside the base HQ .

Mallie Kerman: "The seismometers have confirmed touchdown. Combining them with the radar telemetry, and he should be about 1.5 km south of here."

Dontop Kerman (base commander): "Fantastic! I'll get Joefel to go pick him up in the-"

♪DING-DONG♪

(Yeah. My base has a doorbell.)

Mallie: "Someone's requesting entry at airlock two!"

Dontop: "Oh. Cancel the rover. Lets go to airlock two."

* * *

One day later, Kerbin and Eve reached optimum alignment. The Mun would reach the transfer angle in a matter of hours.

It is traditional to have some sort of ceremony before an interplanetary launch, and the kerbals of the Mun base did the best they could.

There was the traditional flyover! Of sorts:

Then eight kerbals formed a guard of honour, as Watsan approached the vessel that would become his home for the foreseeable future.

Dontop: "I would like to read a poem. Ahem. They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old,"

Seetop: "Pst! Bro! Wrong poem!"

Dontop: "Oh! Um, give me a minute."

Jebediah: "Come on, Time's a wasting!"

Dontop: "Oh, um, go forth in the name of peace and discovery, and make us all pround. Good luck on Eve! That ought to do it."

Jebediah: "There you go man! Now get outta here !"

T-minus 5.. 4..3..2..1

And we have lift of on the first manned mission to launch from the Mun!

Edited August 18, 2019 by Tw1

[The Error]

Awesome. Ad astra per aspera!

[panfish5]

I like this story.

[Weegee]

Cool! Is launching from the Mun is a loophole on the United Nations of Kerbin's statement that "no one shall leave Kerbin for a landing on Eve"?

[The Error]

Will this be continued? It was cool!

[Tw1]

Ooo! Readers! With comments! Yay!

Will this be continued? It was cool!

Yep! I've been planning this for ages, and don't plan to give up any time soon.

Cool! Is launching from the Mun is a loophole on the United Nations of Kerbin's statement that "no one shall leave Kerbin for a landing on Eve"?

Pretty much! There's a bit more to it, as we will find out quite soon.

In the next few days, if I'm not distracted, or busy. That will wrap up this part (or perhaps I'll call it a chapter) and we'll move on some exploration.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Tw1

[The Error]

Yep! I've been planning this for ages, and don't plan to give up any time soon.

Yay! More Eve 'n' tw1!

[Tw1]

The very next Day, KSC called a press conference. Dozens of reporters and interested citizens gathered outside the tracking station to hear what they had to say.

Gene:

"Last night, our tracking system picked up an object leaving the Mun, on a tragectory bound for the inner planets. Most likely Eve.

Early this morning, I spoke with the director of Mun Prograde City and confirmed that it is indeed a mission to Eve, and it is carrying a single kerbal."

The crowd went wild! Some cheering, some shouting out questions.

Walt Kerman(KSC Media manager): "One at a time please! If you have a question, please raise your hand, and the microphone will be brought to you!"

The crowd went quiet.

Walt: "Good."

Reporter: "Tell us a bit about Eve's surface conditions. Do you think this mission has much chance of success?"

Wernher Kerman: "I will put it into everyday terms. Eve's atmosphere is a modern pressure cooker, turned up beyond maximum. Then, there are several nasty chemicals in the atmosphere, and radioactive traces in the ocean... but we were working on these problems before the UN ordered us to halt. The Mun base has full access to the technology we developed, and I have every confidence thier kerbalnaut will be perfectly safe on the surface of Eve."

Another Reporter: "You mentioned the UN. How have they reacted to this news?"

Gene: "I'll take this one. I myself informed the United Nations this morning. We have yet to hear their responce."

* * *

Meanwhile, in an urgently called meeting between the Commissioner for Sceince and Adventure, (Who we've met before (-Pst! It's Gene's Dad)) and the Commissioner for Kerbal Rights:

Windows sealed. High security.

Commissioner for Kerbal Rights: "How could KSC do such a thing? We expressly banned manned missions to Eve."

Gene's Dad: "The Mun base is an independant organisation, and has been for quite some time. On the Mun, it is outside our jurisdiction."

Commissioner: "Nevertheless, we must react against this reckless course of action."

Gene's Dad: "Oh, absolutely. What shall we propose?"

* * *

Dontop: "Sanctions!?!

Gene: "I'm afraid so. The UN wants you guys shut down."

Dontop: "But... But.. But.."

Gene: "Come on Dontop, we talked about this. We knew something like this could happen."

Dontop: "But it was your idea! You said we should do it!

Gene: "Yes, but you are the ones that actually did it. Not us. Not KSC. I'm sure you guys will be fine up there. I'm meant to be in a meeting now. Bye."

And with that, the communications line fell dead.

Joefell: "Hey Dontop, my new analysis is ready! Come have a look!"

Dontop: "Not now Joefel."

He reached for the nearest EVA suit.

Dontop: "I'm going outside, and I may be some time."

* * *

I have one last tradition when it comes to spaceflight. Vessels do not get their unique names until they have made it to orbit. This comes from a time when things didn't make it to orbit quite that often...

Anyway, now safely in orbit around the sun, the Eve Explorer was officially christened: "The Purple Lady".

Watsan Kerman sat, enjoying the view. It was a view only nine other Kerbals had ever seen.

He watched, as his old home slowly faded from view.

​You don't get much of a view inside, the heat shield blocks 70% of the window.

Back inside, something wasn't quite right. There was a strange shuffling, and an odd squeaking noise.

Watsan methodically checked his ship, trying to find the problem.

Wait, what?

This was impossible! Every last bolt of this vessel had been forged on the lifeless, airless Mun. There was no way some... creature could have stowed away. Immediately, Watsan went to open communications with Prograde City.

[COMMS OPEN]

Watsan: "Watsan to Mun base. Hello. There is a strange creature in my spaceship."

Short pause- speed of light delay is beginning to have an effect.

Joefel: "Oh! Hi Watsan! I see you've met Squishy! He's one of the thingies from our Bio lab. We saw the purple one and thought you could do with a friend!"

Watsan: "Wait, I am expected to keep this creature alive? Won't it be eating into my oxygen supplies?"

Tiny pause.

Joefell:"Oh, don't worry about that, they only seem to eat trace minerals, and we arranged that to be added to your supplies. They're very tough those things. They swim by ionising water, and seem happy both under high pressure and near vacuum environments. We'll be interested to see how he does in high gravity."

Mallie (in background): "Are you ready Joe? We're about to head out."

Joefell: "Just a minute! (To Watsan) We're going out to look for Dontop, he hasn't been answering his radio. See ya, make sure you look after Squishy!"

Watsan turned to look again at the small, purple creature, clinging to the equipment racks. It looked harmless enough.

And if worse came to worst, he could probably eat it.

* * *

Prograde Peaks, on The Mun

No. He will not give up. He will not let the Mun base be abandoned. Not again.

They already recycle oxygen and water. Perhaps they'll find ways to make more from Kethane. Food production in the greenhouse could be doubled, at least.

Prograde City will go on. He will find a way prove its worth.

Now, just got to work out how to tell the others KSC is no longer supporting them..

Oh Watsan Kerman. You'd better not die on landing.

* * *

The commissioner for kerbal rights sat in his office, exhausted. What a day it had been!

He has grass for a floor. It's the latest in interior design.

After all the work he'd put into ensuring that the early days of rocketry, with its disregard for kerbal safety would never be repeated, someone gets sent to Eve! And on his own! What if he has a heart attack?

Eve! It has surface temperatures of hundreds of degrees! And the air pressure was.... well, he couldn't remember, but he knew it was something truly hellish. And poisonous chemicals for air... what sort of suit could survive that? Those technical designers at KSC better have known their stuff. Or it on their own heads it would be!

* * *

Near Kerbin City

As the afternoon sun slipped below the horizon, two kerbals watched a bright purple star fade into view.

Gene: "Are you sure we did the right thing?"

Gene's Dad: "That's politics. Sometimes you've got to play the game."

Gene: "Ugh. Remind me why I never followed in your footsteps."

Gene's Dad: "Nevermind. Here's to the success of the Eve mission. What was the man's name? Watsan? Here's to Watsan Kerman!"

Gene: "To Watsan Kerman!"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Edited July 13, 2017 by Tw1

[Tw1]

And that's the end of chapter one!

Next time, (which may not be for quite a while,) Watsan will arrive at Eve, and Dontop will have a mission planed.

Here are some photos from the Eve Explorer's take off from the Mun, which I thought you might like to see.

The flight was pretty simple, it just went straight up, and accelerated to escape velocity. Plus a bit more to put its orbit in the vicinity of Eve's.

Edited December 19, 2013 by Tw1

[The Error]

Yay! And we can wait for the next one, a transfer to Eve is hardly instantaneous after all.

[Commissioner Tadpole]

Awesome. I'm expecting Chapter 2 tomorrow.

Nah, I'm just fooling. Still...good luck with the next chapter.

[Tw1]

Awesome. I'm expecting Chapter 2 tomorrow.

Haha. Maybe if I didn't have a bunch of RL stuff to do Plus, I'll probably play around on Minmus for a bit first, now it has biomes, and my base is almost fully armed and operational...

a transfer to Eve is hardly instantaneous after all.

Yep! The first thing to arrive will be in 26 game days, probably a little longer than IRL...

Assuming I remember to act like a responsible human and do the things I said I would do, and not spend a whole day on the computer...

Plus, got to choose a landing site, which will take some time.

Bit spoilt for choice.....

Got to pick a spot that will make the best use of the equipment we will be landing with!

Edited December 20, 2013 by Tw1

[Commissioner Tadpole]

Also, how did you manage to make the interiors in here?

[Tw1]

Also, how did you manage to make the interiors in here?

The whole thing is effectively a TV set like object, made from various bits and pieces.

[The Error]

Not to be That Guy, but any ETA on the next chapter(s?)?

[ElJugador]

How did you remove their helmets?

[The Error]

How did you remove their helmets?

They're sitting on jetpacks from the Kerbol quest mod. Using a jetpack removes the Kerb's helmets.

[Tw1]

Not to be That Guy, but any ETA on the next chapter(s?)?

I'm afraid I can't really give ETAs. I've got a busy year ahead of me, and Kerbal is just one of the hobbies I intend to find time for.

But, I'll be home from my holiday in a few days, and the next installment is plotted and planned, I just have to do it. So probably in a week, give or take. There will probably be at least one or two new bits a month.

Update for people reading old sections: Due to both wanting to use GIF images, and wanting to make sure the thread loads well, all the following chapters have/will be posted using spoiler tags.

This way, you only need load images as necessary.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Tw1

[Tw1]

* * *

Chapter Two: Cloudy, with a chance of boiling to death!

and

Operation Craters.

Eve. The name of the first kerbal woman.

For decades, biologists and theologians had debated how to reconcile that story with modern theories of evolution.

But now, as the purple planet loomed before him, Watsan Kerman pondered a different question. Had ancient astronomer Novasilisko made a good choice in naming this planet?

Maybe. It was quite a pretty colour.

Carefully, Watsan pushed a cube of minerals in the general direction of Squishy. It bounced against the side of the chamber, Squishy having ignored it.

Odd, he thought.

It had been a few days since Squishy had last been fed- and he'd been strictly following the feeding instructions provided by Joefel.

Four hours later, they reached the edge of Eve's atmosphere. Aerocapture time!

The heat shield groaned slighly, as Evepod* plunged into the gas.

Watsan leaned forward in his chair- the extra heat and G-force not bothering him in the slightest. He would endure.

*(This is another name for this vessel. It's shorter than Eve Ocean Explorer.)

The trip was short, as far as space travel goes, but KSC's doctors had thought anti-bone and anti-muscle loss medication would not be adequate, if kerbals were to walk on Eve for extended periods. So the Evepod had been fitted with exercise equipment, which Watsan had used for several hours each day. He was now as fit and strong as he'd ever been.

Eventually, the glowing plasma streams faded.

Evepod cleared the atmosphere, and returned to space. Squishy's jar rattled. Watsan looked down, and watched as the small creature waved his tentacles over the mineral lump, disintegrating it.

Looks like he'd been hungry after all.

* * *

Evepod was not the first to arrive at Eve.

Once it became clear there was nothing that would convince Watsan to attempt a return to Kerbin-

Watsan: "I have had a long and interesting life on planet Kerbin..."

KSC "agreed" to change the support probe's trajectory from gravity assist to aerocapture.

Four days earlier, the support probe slipped into a highly inclined orbit around Eve.

Using several burns it moved to an almost polar orbit, and activated various instruments and scanners. Its data would be used to build up a detailed picture of the planet's surface and atmosphere.

That mod updated its models, after this thing was already in space. Oh well.

Big inconsistencies were found between this data, and that which Adam (a previous Eve probe) had returned- differences that could not just be explained by the change from MapSat to ScanSat technology. Could it be Eve is more changeable than Kerbin? It is a mystery...

Just one day before the Evepod arrived, the Minmus Institute's Gilly lander also made Eve orbit.

Then, it began a series of maneuvers to align orbits with the Evepod. Why? Guess!

* * *

Prograde City

At that time, the kerbals of the Mun base were in a meeting.

Dontop: "As you know, Prograde City was established to further the work began by Mun Base One, and prove that kerbals can live on the Mun for the long term. Over the past month, we have proved that for sure."

"However, our purpose is also to study the Mun. Our next major project will focus on the sudden appearance of all these craters a few years ago.

Which is why Bill, Bob, and Jeb will soon be departing in Starbug Seven to visit several sites of interest."

Bill: "None of us are geology specialists. I am still of the opinion that-"

Dontop: "NO! YOU, BOB AND JEB WILL GO!"

Bill: " ...Alright! No need for raised voices."

Dontop and his brothers know that a mission by Kerbin's three most famous astronauts would bring positive attention to the Mun base, after all the fuss kicked up by the launch of the Eve mission, a month and a bit ago.

Dontop: "This is to be the start of a much larger, multi mission survey, and we only have so many geology specialists to spread around. Now, on to the matter of the imminent Duna window. We know what KSC is doing and I have no doubt those professors on Minmus will send something too... "

* * *

Eve Orbit

Most Eve mission reports I've read do their Gilly visit after the Eve landing, if they have enough fuel left. But that's is not quite an option here...

For the rendezvous, I tried to do the burns with the Gilly probe much as possible. It has far more spare delta V than Evepod, which may still need to change inclination before landing.

Watsan put the Eve pods systems on standby, and secured Squishy in his jar. Then he grabbed several days worth of Stewie Kerman's Compact Noodle Soup^Tm and jetted over to the probe.

It was just as the (electronic) letter from the Minmus Institute (M.I.S.S.S.) had said.

The probe's seat had to be hyperedited in. I'd planed to move the one on Evepod across, but glitches got the better of that plan.

Apart from one thing- one decoupler on the probe had completely failed. It had been dragging half its launch vehicle with it since it left Minmus. Watsan quickly set this right.

He have the debris a big southward push, sending it clear of his spacecraft, and returned to Evepod to refill his RCS pack. Then, he was of land on Gilly.

So excited.

Watsan's trip to Gilly

Spoiler

* * *

First, Watsan did a series of burns to increase his orbital period. This would increase the area of the orbit where his panels got sunlight, and make the next set of manoeuvres more doable.

It was also a great opportunity to look for landing sites.

Then, a series of burns which brought his orbit into the same plane as Gilly. This was not as straight forward as it might seem, as some of his guidance software- maneuver nodes and automatic burn time counters- could not be trusted in Eve's fast orbits. Fortunately, raw data from the mechjeb system could be relied upon.

I didn't have this problem when I went to Jool. Then again, I didn't stay in a close orbit there.

Thirdly, a set of peri-Eve kicks slowly brought the apoapsis out near Gilly's orbit. Each time, he looked for it against the stars. Yet each time he saw nothing. Such a tiny moon.

Not final trajectory.

And finally: As he made that final approach, a final set of manoeuvres were used to lengthen the time he'd be in the Gilly SOI. Recalling orbital theory, the amount you need to burn to achieve capture around a moon relates to the difference between its orbit, and the orbit you intersected it with. Boosting the Eve periapsis = less burn needed to stop near Gilly.

Doing an ion engine mission is long and gruelling, yet so rewarding when you get there.

Upon entering Gilly's tiny little SOI, Watsan made a burn to make sure he'd pass by Gilly's sunny side. Then, it was time for the capture burn.

His calm, methodical nature vanishing in the excitement of being the first kerbal to visit two bodies outside Kerbin's SOI, Watsan overshot the burn.

Sure, he could've burnt back to orbit, but why bother!?! He was about to land on Gilly!!

Just above the surface, he pulled in the solar panels. He slowed to a still. Then, he hopped out of the lander...

And became the first kerbal to touch a completely untouched body. Not even a spaceship got there before him.

(You could argue the suit counts as a spaceship, but I think we'll give him this one, won't we?)

The probe gently touched down a few moments later. It drifted down the slope, needing its engines to come to a complete stop.

It performed several experiments while on the surface, collecting lots of data to send back to Minmus. Then after some time, it left to do scans from orbit.

Leaving Watsan alone to explore the tiny moon.

Secret Mickey?

 

* * *

Prograde City Landing area

Dudbus Kerman: "Good luck guys!"

Bill: "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Jeb: "Come on Bill! This mission is going to be fun!"

Fun, fun, fun, on the Mun, Mun, Mun....

* * *

Edited August 25, 2019 by Tw1