Probes never come home.

[Luckless]

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.

This really depends on whether or not life support is also added at the same time. When it is, then probes become vastly more cost effective than crewed missions because they will be a fraction of the weight. Lighter weight, easier launches, more cost effective for the science you can get. Even now I can get return science probes easier than I can with manned missions.

[Levelord]

[comment removed]

Edited November 25, 2013 by Levelord
double post

[larsmaehlum]

I use RemoteTech, so they usually end up as either communication satellites or I land them on the surface as hotspots for future rover missions.

[Levelord]

I find a way to bring them back too...

[Algiark]

Most of the time, I don't plan for probes to come home. Especially landers, because it's fun to leave your mark on places and it acts sort of like a precursor to the flag.

[Kasuha]

In 0.22 career mode, probes are of very limited utility because they can't do crew reports, EVA reports, or surface samples.

In 0.22 the tech tree is slightly below 11000 science points. 8000+ of that was delivered by probes in my career run.

[Barklight]

The only probes I ever bring home are my first 1-2 probes, which do Mun and Minmus flyby's for recon and science, then come back to KSC. Those two launches are big probes with at least 4 Goo's and Science Jr's, and I bring the experiments home instead of transmitting them back. Every other probe I launch is smaller and designed with a one-way trip in mind.

[Aragosnat]

Right now I'm planning on using probes to do the fly by x object for science points. As I can build them very light and not as luikely need to refuel them.

[KvickFlygarn87]

[Geschosskopf]

This really depends on whether or not life support is also added at the same time. When it is, then probes become vastly more cost effective than crewed missions because they will be a fraction of the weight. Lighter weight, easier launches, more cost effective for the science you can get. Even now I can get return science probes easier than I can with manned missions.

Life support? That's a good one . Kerbals don't have noses so obviously don't breathe. And they have to wear spacesuits while outside on Kerbin so obviously don't like the conditions there anymore than raw vacuum. Do they need water? Doubtful because Kerbin has no water--the liquid has the density of neutronium so obviously isn't water.

Kerbals are totally alien creatures whose metabolism is completely unknown. IMHO it's less realistic to impose humanocentric life support requirements on them than it is to assume they need zero life support.

[pantner]

Similar to other people here, I use probes to test manned missions before potentially sending my Kerbals out to die.

But I have other probes that are never going to return. One on Duna which fell over after it landed, the same design on Eve (with more legs) that will never be able to take off again (it's intact, just no where near enough delta-v)