First manned mission to Duna - Success!

[Hyomoto]

Up until this point, I've only been sending Science Bugs out into outer space to try and gain science. But since they limit (somewhat self-imposed) the amount of science that can be gained, I need to start sending manned missions out. Mun and Minmus have already been tapped out, and at this point anything less than a major mission just isn't bringing in enough science. So I decided to launch a manned mission outside Kerbin SOI. Duna seems a bit easier than Eve so I settled on it. I built a ship to do this task, but unfortunately I couldn't get it to work out the way I wanted so I decided to refuel it in orbit and attempt the mission anyways, a bit reckless but Jebidiah wanted to go. I apologize I don't have more screenshots, I don't usually intend to share a story afterwards but this time it just felt so good I really want to.

The trip to Duna was flawless, I actually had something very interesting and unexpected happen,

Somehow I managed to hit both SOI which made the aerobraking nice and easy. Considering how absolutely tight the fuel was for this mission, this was a godsend.

Like most ships this one consists of the lander and the transfer module. I dropped off at a 60km parking orbit and detached.

The idea behind this is the braking engine is on top which is used to descend, then the parachutes, and finally the two side tanks and the lower engine are for returning to orbit. I also added in the seperatrons for a nice initial boost.

No major issues during the descent, everything goin

I return to orbit and link back up with the transfer module. But now I get to the part I was expecting, less than a quarter of the fuel I used to get here left to get back. Should I send a refueling rig out, or to just try and make it back? It could be years, and that's a long time to leave someone waiting. I could leave the lander, and I'm sure the remaining fuel will last longer without it, but I'd lose out on a massive amount of science I'd gathered. Sure, transmission is a possibility, but I was really hoping for a better payday. So instead I decided to shut down two engines and consolidate the remaining fuel. I use Ike to escape the SOI and found that for a mere 31 second burn I could get within 1.6 million km of Kerbin. I know I have SOME fuel, but I don't know exactly how much. The lander does have some left in it that I can either transfer to the big engines, or save for just in case. I decide on the latter and it turns out the answer is ... I have twenty three seconds of fuel. Now, there is a minor problem I found in the design after takeoff. The parachutes are attached to the drop tanks, and if you haven't figured out the problem with that I need to study you. So even though I wanted to bring the lander in, it might be impossible without any fuel. However, I realize if I just split the emergency lander and leave it on the Duna lander I can make use of its parachutes.

And wouldn't you know? It worked! Back to probes for a bit I think, I prefer missions where I'm not too concerned if things go awry. Only had one casualty so far in Career, and I think I'm going to try to keep it that way for a while longer.