Easy planets to travel to AND return?

[NewbieNick]

I've had this game since may and played the demo 1.5 years ago and just recently started watching Scott Manley tutorials. I've traveled to the Mun and Minmus a few times and returned each time. I also have a docking station in orbit around Kerbal at like 120km. So now I'm wondering which planets are easiest to travel to and return besides the Mun and Minmus.

[Vanamonde]

If you have parachutes, it is quite easy to land on Duna or Eve. It is, however, quite difficult to return from Eve. Without parachutes, you can still reach the moons of those planets, Gilly and Ike. Both planetary systems allow for aerobraking, which saves fuel.

[EvilotionCR2]

My shot would be at Jool. Super large SOI. Easy to get a capture. A large atmosphere so you can aerobreak easily, and save a lot of fuel.

[Stubby]

I think Duna and Ike are the easiest. Transferring to Duna is very easy, since the inclination is low, and it is quite easy to memorize the transfer window. You can aerobrake with Duna, which saves a whole lot of fuel. Parachutes help a lot too for the landing. It is also easy to lift off, because of its low gravity. Ike is easy too because you could aerobrake, and transfer to Ike that way. Touching down on Ike is easier than landing on the Mun, because of the low gravity. After taking off from Ike, you can sling off of Duna's gravity for the return.

[Starman4308]

Duna is the usual choice. Transfers don't require a huge amount of dV past escaping Kerbin orbit, it's got an atmosphere thick enough for aerobraking and parachutes, and thin enough to not overly complicate ascent, and its moon/sister planet Ike* is an interesting secondary target.

*If KSP modeled barycenters, Duna and Ike would probably be a double planet.

Eve is right around in the same range for every mission profile which does not entail returning from the surface. Eve's atmosphere is thick and its gravity strong: Eve surface ascents are one of the most difficult things to do in KSP. Otherwise, though, orbital missions (with short dips into high atmosphere) and Gilly landings aren't bad, and an unmanned lander is an easy task. Just accept the fact that Eve's surface is for life: naught shall return from her embrace.

Dres is probably not too much harder: it's got no atmosphere (thus no aerobraking) and a relatively steep 5 degree inclination, but the dV requirements are in the same range, and surface gravity is quite manageable.

[Piper]

IMHO, Duna is by far the easiest to get to and from. Duna lies on the same inclination as Kerbin, so you can start your transfer on a nice simple equatorial orbit. Since it has an atmosphere, you only need deltaV (fuel) for getting back to orbit, and only a little bit for touchdown. As Vanamonde mentioned, you can even Aerobrake in the atmosphere instead of using fuel to brake into orbit.

The only downside is the great galactic kraken that is rumoured to live between Kerbin and Duna. It has a particular taste for spacecraft with red coloured flags

Edited November 17, 2014 by Piper