Does sending data reduce the total science gained?

[pixartist]

So, I got a feeling that the amount of science a measurement creates is reduced by the same amount whether I send it or take it back to Kerbin, so does the total amount of science I can gain from each body get reduced when sending it?

[KerikBalm]

The total amount of data you can get from each body is not reduced by transmitting data.

But that doesn't mean the next return will be as much as the first return would have been without transmission.

Ie, suppose you get 100 science for a return, or 20 for a transmit, and its possible to get 140 science total from repeated returns.

You land, and transmit 20 science.

There is now 120 science remaining to be gained.

You do a return mission, this one gets you roughly 86 science, not 100 science.

86+20 >100

Of course, if you did 2 returns, instead of 1 transmit, and then 1 return, it would be something like 100 for the first return, and 29 science for the 2nd return - for a total of 129.

Either way, you can keep sending missions to do returns, but the science gained will diminish each time.

Its sort of like an infinite sum... 1+1/2 +1/4+1/8+1/16+1/32...... ... sums up to 2 science.

Each return will give you a % of the remaining science to be gained.

A transmission detracts from the remaining science to be gained, but the total amount is not lowered

[EtherDragon]

Also, you can only transmit (without the Science Lab) up to 40% of the total science available, then you can't transmit it any more - the rest has to be retrieved.

[Claw]

So, I got a feeling that the amount of science a measurement creates is reduced by the same amount whether I send it or take it back to Kerbin, so does the total amount of science I can gain from each body get reduced when sending it?

No. You can transmit and then return the same experiment (after running a second time) and you will not "lose out" on any science. Exactly how the science points stack up is a bit strange (as KerikBalm pointed out), but transmitting does not "lock out" any future science.

[Claw]

Also, you can only transmit (without the Science Lab) up to 40% of the total science available, then you can't transmit it any more - the rest has to be retrieved.

The percentage of transmittable science depends on what you are transmitting. The values can be found here at the wiki (listed as "Transmission Efficiency").