Free trajectory moon landing

[angeldust]

Soo it is time for me to post my very first challange!

The inspiration came to me when I asked in the Q&A Forum if it was possible to get a free trajectory to the Mun, like the apollo missions did.

It was established that it is quite possible (and easy) but not efficient and quite superfluous, as there are no failures in KSP (yet).

Except that it is awesome, there is no "need" to do it, and, as Pecan put it:

I can never bring myself to do a fly-by. Once I've got there I have to orbit it, even if not land on it. I'm so lame (or at least several Kerbals are from rash missions)

Haha! But what if! What if Jeb, the old swashbuckler had an awesome idea how to spend lots of money and kerbal lives on an essentially unneccessary but awesome mission?

Jeb dares you to

• build a rocket with a lander and a docking port to do it "apollo style"*
  
• get to the Mun with a free return trajectory **
  
• WITHOUT circulizing and after entering the Mun`s SOI: decouple, land the lander, get back up, rondevouz and dock before leaving Mun`s SOI, then come back to kerbin to be greeted as awesomest munlander of the year
  

* By that I mean a Mun lander which is docked to another vessal and separates to land on the mun and come back whilst the other part stays in an (in this case hyperbolic) orbit around the Mun

** don't know what a free return trajectory is? here is a wonderful thread with videos and pictures to show you what it is and how to get it

Rules

• Mods are allowed, as long as they are reasonably balanced
  
• after the trajectory is established no engines are to be fired on the main ship until redocking (the lander, of course, may fire its enging once decoupled to land and start on/off the moon)
  
• Post pictures at your own descretion, but at least one map view of the trajectory, one of the lander landed and one of the redocked vessel
  
• To get the medals and kudos please post pictures as proof
  

Points

• 
  There are no leaderboards, everyone who succeded wins 100 awesome-points to spend or eat at will (best consumed with hot awesome-sauce). But there will be a hall of fame for everyone who made it and some kudos (please feel free to suggest more, if you feel something is missing)
  
• Smallest ship (by weight). Minimalist record.
  
• Largest ship (by weight). Maximalist record.
  
• Fastest Mission (Mission timer). Speeder record
  
• Landing on KSC terrain. Pilot proficiency medal.
  
• Landing near Mun anomaly. Sight-seer medal.
  
• Have lander and orbiter both manned and no fatalities. Humanist medal.
  

Hall of Fame

[*]Kasuha Humanist medal

edit: adapted the rule, entered Kasuha in Hall of Fame

Edited September 22, 2014 by angeldust
rules updated

[Kasuha]

WITHOUT circulizing: decouple, land the lander, get back up, rondevouz and dock and come back to kerbin

Doesn't make sense. If you don't circularize, the main ship continues on free return trajectory back towards Kerbin at above 500 m/s. You can technically catch up with it after landing but it's no better than returning to Kerbin on your own because you need to perform whole ejection burn and get yourself on return trajectory (on which the main ship already is) to be able to rendezvous. That's not how Apollo missions went.

[Jasonden]

Jeb dares you to

• build a rocket with a lander and a docking port to do it "apollo style"*
  
• get to the Mun with a free return trajectory **
  
• WITHOUT circulizing: decouple, land the lander, get back up, rondevouz and dock and come back to kerbin
  

* By that I mean a Mun lander which is docked to another vessal and separates to land on the mun and come back whilst the other part stays in an (in this case hyperbolic) orbit around the mun

Yeah, what kasuha said.

But also, what part would you leave in hyperbolic free-return orbit if your lander has to get back on that trajectory by itself anyway? I'm envisioning a 'main' ship as being a docking port with a parachute attached and that's it.

[angeldust]

That's not how Apollo missions went.

Well I know that. But it would be hardly a challange, if you'd circulize.

The challange is in being fast enough with landing, starting and docking so that your rondevouz part isn't halfway to Kerbin when you landed. It is also about designing the craft to do it. If the craft left in the hyperbolic trajectory is just a girder with chutes then so be it, the challange stays the same

[Kasuha]

Well I know that. But it would be hardly a challange, if you'd circulize.

The challange is in being fast enough with landing, starting and docking so that your rondevouz part isn't halfway to Kerbin when you landed. It is also about designing the craft to do it. If the craft left in the hyperbolic trajectory is just a girder with chutes then so be it, the challange stays the same

Okay, if it is intentional...

[cantab]

When am I allowed to separate the LM, and when must I return to the CSM by? After entering and before leaving the Mun's SOI?

[angeldust]

When am I allowed to separate the LM, and when must I return to the CSM by? After entering and before leaving the Mun's SOI?

That is right!

[Kasuha]

Okay, my attempt:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Deejay2000]

... Uhh... I don't think I'm going to event try with the submission posted above...

[SlayerMcGee]

Kasuha, really impressive mate, Bob did not look very happy having to stay in free return in the "docking chair"

[Claw]

Okay, my attempt:

Heh. Nicely done. It's hard for me to tell from that picture, but did you make the free return go out away from the Mun after it passed through the SOI? Because that's what I was thinking... Or did you just "fire the engine for landing" with it initially pointed the "wrong way?"

Although this rule...

Rules

• after the trajectory is established no engines are to be fired except to land and after redocking
  

Leaves me a bit curious on how exactly you're supposed to get back off the Mun after landing if you can't fire the engine?

Sorry Kasuha...

[Kasuha]

Kasuha, really impressive mate, Bob did not look very happy having to stay in free return in the "docking chair"

Thanks, that was actually the reason I selected him

I originally planned to add a story to the sequence and call it 'Jeb's prank' but then it was too late and I was tired.

Leaves me a bit curious on how exactly you're supposed to get back off the Mun after landing if you can't fire the engine?

It does not look like OP cares much about the challenge anymore (but I still had fun flying it). I understood the rule as that the part on free return is forbidden to fire any engines (and perhaps wait in orbit) until the landing part docks with it. And indeed, Bob did not fire any engines the entire time he was alone.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Kasuha

[angeldust]

Sorry, I had a big project going on and the challange kinda fell off my plate! I will update the rule to be more precise. No Engine on the main ship is to be fired would be better...