"Special Event" missions

[ejtttje]

Assuming some variant of asteroids and comets are coming, I'd like to suggest a particular take on them, where these are treated as special events once a certain tech level is unlocked (an "observatory"). There could be two types of event:

Pass-through: an object (e.g. comet) is passing through the system on a long period. The player gets a reward for completing a fly-by/orbit/sample before the object passes back out. Due to unpredictable nature and limited accessibility, successful intercept may require the player to develop and distribute interceptor craft around the solar system in order to have a craft on target and in range of the object. (An interesting trade-offâ€â€the object goes faster as it is pulled into the inner system, so you can either maintain an array of cheaper deep space probes to catch it early when it's slower, or a few decked-out speedsters in closer orbits to try to catch up later.) The object doesn't necessarily need to be tracked on a proper orbit, it is stated to go back out into deep space and not be seen again on any reasonable time scale. New comets are simply randomly generated at a reasonable frequency.

Deflection: an asteroid has drifted into collision course with Kerbin (or other planet, perhaps threatening any bases there). The player is tasked to intercept and deflect (or destroy?) the body by any means necessary (crash a probe, land/dock and thrust, etc.). Basically I want to recreate Deep Impact