Need assistance with unmanned rover design

[Menzoberranzan]

I'm trying to design my first successful rover. I'm trying to use this basic design for Mun/Minmus exploration and later uses on more distant bodies. My biggest problem I'm having a hard time putting the rover on a 1.5m rocket. Any suggestions?

[lockpicker]

You could try loading it to the side with some beams and docking ports like so

,however this design has the limitation that you have to carry two rovers instead of one,

or you could load it on the back and use radial engines like so

however you have to be careful that your exhaust gases from the engines don't go at the rover

or you could load it on the front,

however you have to be sure that when it falls, it will land correctly and not on its back.

Personally I prefer the first method because two rovers are better than one and landing them correctly isn't an issue if you load them correctly.

[Vorox]

If you put the rover on top of the rocket, you can add RCS so you can land it correctly

[Tex]

Just be wary that rovers on Minmus are a pain to land an control, unless it's very, very heavy. I once tried to land a rover there and it bounced about 7km away on the frozen Minmus-ian ocean!

[arise257]

Just be wary that rovers on Minmus are a pain to land an control, unless it's very, very heavy. I once tried to land a rover there and it bounced about 7km away on the frozen Minmus-ian ocean!

To combat the low gravity, I use RCS and spam the "translate down" key when I break contact with the ground. The other thing you have to watch for is sharp turns, you have to roll into them in order to keep all the wheels down.

[arise257]

Here is a rover design for you. If you like it, I'll shoot you a link for the craft file.

Driving Picture

Driving Picture 2

In flight with final stage of lifter

It's designed to land on its legs, upright. Then you extend the wheels and tip the craft until they hit the ground. After that, jettison the legs, and take this thing for a spin. It's very light, so keep RCS and SAS on. The wheelbase is narrow as well, so plan your turns and take them slow.

When you're ready to leave, bring it up to 30m/s on Mun, or 18m/s on Minmus, pitch up and take off. You can then jettison the wheels and fly back home.

Edited April 18, 2014 by arise257

[Vanamonde]

I haven't updated the designs for a while, but these should still work.