Probes never come home.

[Agent86]

Agree or disagree?

All my probes ever do is gather science, transmit it home, and then use the last of their fuel to become an impactor on one body or another.

As for Kerbals in career mode, I haven't lost one yet, and they have gone as far as moho.

[Rainbow-Dashie]

My probes usually land on the surface of the planet or moon, and then stay there, acting as beacons for the first manned mission. On the way down the collect data on the atmosphere (only landed on Eve and Duna so far), then do all the surface tests. None of em ever come back.

[Demon_82]

I voted disagree because there's no "sometimes" option. My science probes in career got back to Kerbin from Mun, Minmus, Ike, Gilly and Dres, and they got stranded in Eve, Duna and Moho. It depends on how far they are from home

[minimuffin]

I chose disagree, despite the fact that my probes do not typically return. I voted disagree because I test manned missions beforehand using probes and if that means returning, simply to see if I can, I will.

[Psycix]

Although they usually don't, I do like to have a rover collect (imaginary) samples, load it onto an ascent stage and send the samplehome.

[Landwalker]

Up until the discovery of solar panels, probes return home (because they just don't pack enough battery power to transmit science effectively). After solar panels, probes rarely return home.

[celem]

I use RemoteTech 2 so I have a lot of static sats and such that are permenant, along with probe rovers here and there. Most of my sci-probes come back, I prefer to return science rather than transmit it, spamming to drain the pool feels fake to me.

Certain probes are profiled not to return. I generally land 2 on eve and drop one into jool for transmitting. Duna gets a probe lander without return to test chute design for the manned followup, this mission generally does no sci. I similarly dry-run laythe with a sci-free probe lander.

[magnemoe]

Part of the reason behind probes is that they don't have to be returned, has however returned a few like a Minmus science probe who was sent to do gravitation and seismic scans. It had 1000 dV left after landing so I send it back to Kerbin.

Most does not have the dV to return. For the Minmus probe it was no reason to use anything smaller than an 45 liter tank who was overkill for the payload.

[thereaverofdarkness]

My kerbals rarely come home. So far never, if they have left the Kerbin SOI (one exception, a crew of three swung out to interplanetary space briefly to collect data and came right back).

[lajoswinkler]

Almost all of my probes ever ended as impactors or dead on their destinations.

At this moment, I'm conducting a visit to Joolean system to verify the orbit borders of each body, and after that I'm throwing the probe into Jool. It has a parachute, so lots of data will be sent, but I've unlocked the tech tree long time ago, so it's kind of useless.

[jwenting]

I've had a few come home. A few more sent out planning to bring them home but didn't work out that way. And more intentionally left behind, some of them with enough fuel they might make it home.

[Epthelyn]

Replace "never" with "often don't" and it's true, but often I use probes as a test to see where I can get to (and back from) before I send a manned mission. If I know a probe can get to Duna orbit and back then, with a few adjustments, I can make a manned rocket and carry out the same mission.

[milbournosphere]

Right now they either become impactors or act as a beacon, as others stated above. However, I'm eagerly awaiting an addition to SCIENCE that allows probes/rovers to collect samples.

[annallia]

I had to choose disagree. While true most of my probes stay gone once in a while one will be designed with returning in mind.

[Killerdude8]

When I am done with a Probe, I change it to Debris, and forget about it, A relic, to withstand the test of time, on a far off world, Never to be seen from or heard of ever again.

[RSwordsman]

I voted agree. My probes usually go where they need to go, transmit data, and then either crash or are aborted once they outlive their usefulness.

[Madrias]

My probes have only ever returned if they fail to make orbit around Kerbin before heading outward. After that, they stay out there as markers, guides, symbols of another time. Until I send manned missions to collect the poor thing, set up a base, couple the probe's docking port to the ship, and send it back home. Yes, I've done that once I unlock the Docking Port, all probes must come equipped with one standard Clamp-o-Tron to send them home when operational services are no longer needed, such as when a proper base gets built.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

The only probes that come home are A: atmospheric probes or B: failed mission

[Tex]

I absolutely disagree. My probes do come home...

...as fireballs...

[Brapness]

Anyone else reminded of this?

http://xkcd.com/695/

My probes don't come home. They carry on exploring, voyaging forever amongst the stars. I kind of envy them...

[Force21]

I always bring back everything I send up, doesn't matter if it's a probe or capsule, I bring it back.

[Geschosskopf]

The situation with probes is different depending on whether you're in career mode or sandbox.

In 0.22 career mode, probes are of very limited utility because they can't do crew reports, EVA reports, or surface samples. Thus, if you're the type how wants to milk every drop of science possible, probes are a waste of time because you'll have to send a Kerbal to the same place to get the rest of the science there. In 0.23, probes will be even less useful because transmitting will be nerfed and launches will cost money. Nerfing transmitting will mean you'll bring everything home, which means you might as well send a Kerbal to get the extra types of data. Besides, you might not be able to afford 2 missions to the same place anyway.

OTOH, in sandbox mode, the situation is reversed. There, Kerbals are practically useless. They add a lot of mass to your rocket, plus may also impose life support constraints if that's your thing, and all you get in return is a very limited amount of menial labor. Fix a flat, fix a leg, repack a chute (which still won't work right), plant a flag, maybe pump gas with KAS. Unless you need these tasks, there's no justification for sending Kerbals when a probe can do the flying just as well with no moral obligation to ever come back.

[Northstar1989]

I've taken to playing Career Mode only, and yes, my probes never come home.

This is mainly because the types of data small probes can collect (temperature, gravity, barometric, seismic, and atmosphere science) all transmit with relatively high efficiency (usually 60%)- whereas the types of data I collect on a heavier (usually manned mission) such as lab results, surface samples, goo data, and EVA reports, all don't transmit nearly as well. So I have no motivation to return the probes home, whereas I do have motive to return the heavier missions. Crew reports being the exception (with their 100% transmit efficiency) of course.

All in all, though, I prefer to roleplay (see my Mission Reports thread if you're interested: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57509-Kerbin-and-Beyond-a-Maturing-Space-Program )- so I try to eventually return my Kerbals to Kerbin whenever possible- whereas I don't see the point with probes. I you don't roleplay (at least a little), what's the point of the game most of the time anyways? Seeing how big of an explosion Jebediah can make with the ship?

[plainawesome]

you really should have a both.

[Kabloosh]

Since I use remotetech they end up becoming satellites around their respective planet I sent them to so future missions have access to communication.