Has any tried for the cheapest Mun lander?

[csanders]

Curious what people could come up with. Or how little someone could make work with a good launch profile/landing/return.

EDIT: I labeled this terribly. Cheapest ship to take off from Kerbin, land a Kerbal, then go back to Kerbin.

Edited July 23, 2014 by csanders

[samstarman5]

Going to Scott Manley's Youtube is considering cheating and will likely get you expelled from the Academy.

It does depend a lot on what part of the tech tree you are at. If you have it all unlocked, then there is a lot available to make for a very cheap Mun lander and launch platform. For example, the Rockomax 48-7S would be ideal alone for landing and return, which would save a chunk of funds. Of course, that is a tier 5 part.

[Himynameisjake]

Curious what people could come up with. Or how little someone could make work with a good launch profile/landing/return.

Just looking to get up and down from the Mun? At under 5k, this is as cheap as it gets from a circular 50km Munar orbit.

Want to go home? slap a Mk16 parachute upside down under the probe core and you can send the lander back to the launch pad. Weighing in at under 1T, you can send it to the Mun for under 7k with some SRB's and a LV-T30.

Craft File

Enjoy

[Kerbart]

What are those spiny things sticking out to the sides? They look awfully expensive.

[Franklin]

yeah, an mk16 has an impact tolerance of 12m/s, just take off those spiny things they only have a crash tolerance of 10m/s anyway. we'll just land on the chute.

[Pecan]

Haven't tried anything specifically for Mun - this works as a lander for everywhere up to Duna

cost 3,620, 2,731m/s deltaV - it can almost take itself to Mun and back.

[magnemoe]

yeah, an mk16 has an impact tolerance of 12m/s, just take off those spiny things they only have a crash tolerance of 10m/s anyway. we'll just land on the chute.

Balance is more of an problem than impact. you could use four of the small struts, yes the are at the end of tech tree.

I would also do an powered landing back on kerbin, has bad experience with parachutes and rover seats.

Has used a design like this a lot

[Franklin]

Balance is more of an problem than impact. you could use four of the small struts, yes the are at the end of tech tree.

I would also do an powered landing back on kerbin, has bad experience with parachutes and rover seats.

Has used a design like this a lot

stage the chute on the launch pad and cut it. then you have a nice flat surface to land on. once you're on the return trip, re-pack the chute.

[csanders]

I labeled this thread badly. I meant from kerbin to mun back to kerbin again.

I forgot there was a "challenges" forum. This topic is probably more suited for there. Checking out the ".24 cost effective lifters" threat at the moment.

[Concentric]

Back in 0.23.5 I got the price of a rocket from Launchpad to Mun and back to Kerbin under 4.5k. Haven't tried cost-optimising in 0.24 yet, but it was kind of ridiculous. The change in pricing would have had an effect, and perhaps the ability to tweak the fuel quantity can shave a little more.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Concentric