Biome Hopper Challenge (Open for v0.90!)

[Kerbas_ad_astra]

Dippercandy -- nice drop pod system!

Claw, how long is this challenge going to be open? I can't fly an airship on a full biome-hopping trip in one sitting, but I can get a couple done every (real-time) day. I've made a couple of tweaks to the Sky Princess to let it fly much faster, and I've also made a Tier 5 version (can't go any lower because of the thermometer), so in a few days I'll have a full set of 9 biomes for the both of them.

[dippercandy]

If you are very patient and go a minimalist route, i would be possible to reach all of Kerbins biomes with a rover. Since there is only one continent on Kerbin, all of the bioms can be reached by land.

Assuming you constanly travel with 20 m/s i would take around 10-12 hours to reach all of the biomes, while this obviously not a viable strategy on Kerbin this effect could be used on Minmus.

With a lab-rover you could reach all of Minmus's Biomes in 30 minutes. Still a lot but you should consider it if you plan to use as few mass as possible.

[Claw]

Craft Name: Biome MIRV

Dippercandy,

This is awesome! I had an extremely similar idea (hence the science drop pod hint), so I was really hoping someone would do it. Great job! I'm adding you to the list.

Claw, how long is this challenge going to be open?

As of now, there is no set end date for this challenge. I don't have a specific end goal for it, so as long as there is interest I will keep updating. Hopefully it's written generic enough that when the new biomes come out, it can still be a viable challenge.

If you want, feel free to post progress as you go along similar to what GoSlash27 started to do. Although you might have to help me when you're done by posting a summary post.

I debated about the tech tier because of the thermometer, but gotta have science! Maybe I'll revisit this to see if we can lower the tier requirement some.

Hopefully that answers your question.

Cheers,

~Claw

Edited November 24, 2014 by Claw

[SRV Ron]

I'm sure that Jeb's Professor Kerbenstein sky sailor, fitted with instruments, a ladder, Goo capsule, and a couple more barrels of Whale Oil, could fulfill the mission. However, it could take days of real time playing to reach all the biomes.

[The_Rocketeer]

Now I've got the Pugwash music stuck in my head....

[Wanderfound]

Might be finally time to get that lab-carrying spaceplane done...

[Superfluous J]

I recorded video and took snapshots of the launch and Mun ejection of my hopeful get-all-biomes-from-mun-minmus-and-kerbin mission. It was I think 700 parts, though lots of those were struts and solar panels Laggy as all get out but flew pretty well. I also landed in 2 mun biomes and hope to have the rest recorded by next week.

[astrobond]

Hi all Here is my Biomes catcher for Mun and Minmus:

Craft Name : Biomes Science Catcher (Mun and Minmus)

Stock / Non-Stock Entry: Stock + MechJeb2

Celestial Body: Mun or Minmus

Number of Biomes: At least 15 in one trip...

Total Mission Cost: Just the fuel cost (SSTO + Full reuseable Lander and SpaceLab ship) but 374274$ investment.

Highest Science Tier: High

Craft File: "Biomes Science Catcher (Mun and Minmus)"

Album with only one Mun Biome visited, but you just have to repeat refueling and wait polar orbit to be over the other Biomes to make a full science Journey in one trip

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Fly safe with Jeb !

[Claw]

I'm sure that Jeb's Professor Kerbenstein sky sailor...

Heh, that thing looks awesome. Let me know when you want to make it an official entry.

Might be finally time to get that lab-carrying spaceplane done...

Good luck!

I recorded video and took snapshots of the launch and Mun ejection of my hopeful get-all-biomes-from-mun-minmus-and-kerbin mission...

Hmm. I might have to make this a category in-itself. I look forward to seeing your vessel.

Cheers!

~Claw

[Claw]

Hi all Here is my Biomes catcher for Mun and Minmus:

Nice job! Looks very sci-fi to me with the engine pods sticking out like that.

Assuming the X200-32 is dedicated fuel for your lander, then I agree with your estimation that it's capable of hopping to all the Munar biomes. As with the Sky Princess, I will chock you up with what you did, and add a note of what it's capable of. I like the fully reusable booster stage too.

Excellent work!

Cheers,

~Claw

[Wanderfound]

Okeydoke; here's the Kerbodyne entry for y'all.

Warm up the jets...

...and kick in the boosters.

Up we go...

...and away.

Those Rockomax adaptors certainly generate a lot of drag. Can't wait for the proper Mk2 -> 2.5m adaptors (yay Porkjet!) in .90.

Up to speed...

Flick the RAPIERs on for a bit to pop us into the hypersonic...

(this is totally unnecessary and waste of fuel, but I was impatient and have juice to spare)

...before cutting back to Nuke/Turbo efficiency.

Finish off with the nukes...

...and we're up. 6,455m/s delta-V still in the tanks.

To the Mun!

Scenic.

Even with two nukes, that's a long burn. I'm considering reinstituting my self-imposed LV-N ban, just so I can go back to nice quick Aerospike burns.

Time to hit the brakes.

...and now we're in a low Munar orbit. 5,041m/s in the tanks.

Let's find a landing spot.

Soften the hit with Vernors...

...and we're safely down. 4,138m/s remaining.

Science!

Moar Science!

Collect the samples...

...and deliver to the lab.

Cleaning time.

Ooh, more scenic.

All good to go again.

Vernors to pop the nose up...

...and a few seconds of RAPIER to get some altitude.

Cruising along...

...to find a new biome.

That's enough horizontal speed, hover the rest of the way.

Brakes again.

Control the descent...

...and down once more.

A bit of retro thrust to aid braking...

...and it's time for more Science!

And that's enough for a demo; actually going and hitting every biome is a bit more work than I'm prepared to do for a challenge post.

It could fairly easily hit every biome on the Mun or Minmus, particularly if you're careful to minimise RAPIER use. It can also rove around at ground level comfortably if you use the nukes on low throttle for propulsion.

[Superfluous J]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo....................* splat *

So I do all the Mun stuff, get to Minmus, land expertly, and find out...

I FORGOT THE THERMOMETERS.

Why couldn't I forget the MUN thermometers? I'd have found out in the first 15 minutes and could have started over!

Oh well, I'll still post it but I sadly must pull my hat from the actual ring.

[dippercandy]

This isn't an official entry but a funny idea i had with a drop pod system. Those "lawnchairs" were inspired by the famous bomb

riding scene in Kubricks Dr. Strangelove.

The ion engine actualle provides a lot of thrust for those small pods but energy is a problem,

you really have to be very good in calculating landing sites and

atmospheric drag to land where you want. Here it is. The "Mein-Kerbal-I-can-Walk":

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Claw]

Okeydoke; here's the Kerbodyne entry for y'all.

...

Kerbodyne Kopernicus

Nice job. I will add you to the list.

Much like the others, I will post what you did and that it's capable of more. That's a nice looking plane, and I can't believe you took it all the way to the Mun!

Cheers,

~Claw

[Claw]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo....................* splat *

So I do all the Mun stuff, get to Minmus, land expertly, and find out...

I FORGOT THE THERMOMETERS...

Heh. Maybe I'll have to post an "attempts" category.

7. Required Science per Biome (and the rational for collecting it)

• Temperature – To prove that you won’t forget about the little sensors.

I posted this in jest, but I wasn't expecting it to be a factor.

This isn't an official entry but a funny idea i had with a drop pod system. Those "lawnchairs" were inspired by the famous bomb

riding scene in Kubricks Dr. Strangelove.

I like this idea too. I really debated about the capsule requirement, but figured it made for a more complete science hopper. Still, nice setup.

Cheers,

Claw

[Wanderfound]

That's a nice looking plane, and I can't believe you took it all the way to the Mun!

[Signo]

Hi all, I will not enter the contest cause I am playing other games ATM, but usually for this kind of mission profile I use the hybrid design you can see below.

It is "Duna capable" (and beyond) if you add a couple of radial chutes to the rover or if u use a para/tug rcs add on you can snap in the cargo bay.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Claw]

Hi all, I will not enter the contest cause I am playing other games ATM, but usually for this kind of mission profile I use the hybrid design you can see below.

Actually, you might have done enough for that to be an entry. When I get a bit more time, I'll look into your album a bit closer (there's a lot of pictures) and see if you did all the events.

Looks cool though, I don't see many rover/plane combos quite like that.

Cheers,

~Claw

[drewscriver]

I've actually been working on a science SSTO for a few weeks now, and just finally finished.

Unfortunately, though it's in the spirit of the challenge, it doesn't meet the rules, because I could not figure out a way to incorporate a crew capsule into a rover that can still fit into a cargo bay.

Still, I thought you might enjoy seeing my take on the biome hopper concept, the Hypatia II

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited November 29, 2014 by drewscriver

[Wanderfound]

I've actually been working on a science SSTO for a few weeks now, and just finally finished.

Unfortunately, though it's in the spirit of the challenge, it doesn't meet the rules, because I could not figure out a way to incorporate a crew capsule into a rover that can still fit into a cargo bay.

You might find this one useful for inspiration: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/90747-Kerbodyne-SSTO-Division-Omnibus-Thread?p=1558757&viewfull=1#post1558757

[Signo]

Actually, you might have done enough for that to be an entry. When I get a bit more time, I'll look into your album a bit closer (there's a lot of pictures) and see if you did all the events.

Looks cool though, I don't see many rover/plane combos quite like that.

Cheers,

~Claw

The album refers to my K prize entry, there you can find the whole mission report too. It was not supposed to be a science gathering mission but just a capability demonstration flight so there isn't any scientific instrument actually installed. I used a rover of the same model in my Eve Rocks entry too (the Lvl 2 achievement mission - collecting an ocean sample).

[drewscriver]

You might find this one useful for inspiration: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/90747-Kerbodyne-SSTO-Division-Omnibus-Thread?p=1558757&viewfull=1#post1558757

A cool plane, and a nicely designed rover. Unfortunately, the rule requires a Crew Report, not an EVA Report, so only a capsule will do...

[Wanderfound]

A cool plane, and a nicely designed rover. Unfortunately, the rule requires a Crew Report, not an EVA Report, so only a capsule will do...

Or a cockpit...

I've been using these for parasite landers rather than rovers, but they'd make a fine rover cockpit as well if you hang some cubic octagonals or 0.725m parts off each end to mount the wheels on. The canopy tends to clip through the cargo bay a bit, but so long as you set it to clip through the doors instead of the floor they shouldn't get stuck in place.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Wanderfound

[numerobis]

I so completely don't have time to really play KSP (I can spare a few minutes at a time, but I'd need a couple-hour block to get anywhere). Still, here's the core of what I'm designing. There should be three of these in my spacecraft if I can manage it; two of them undock, land on an airless moon, and dock back up to the mothership. The third *is* the mothership.

Uh... wait, no, that's not quite right. Here it is!

Note to self: don't hit the brakes while time is accelerated.

That module has about 3.3 km/s on it, and can safely land on a body with up to 8m/s^2. Not quite Tylo-ready, but it can do the other airless bodies.

Edited November 29, 2014 by numerobis

[drewscriver]

Or a cockpit...

I've been using these for parasite landers rather than rovers, but they'd make a fine rover cockpit as well if you hang some cubic octagonals or 0.725m parts off each end to mount the wheels on. The canopy tends to clip through the cargo bay a bit, but so long as you set it to clip through the doors instead of the floor they shouldn't get stuck in place.

http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/screenshot39_zpsaa269cbe.jpg

I've been trying to build a rover with an integrated materials study bay for a while, and keep running into the same basic problem that I assume a mark 1 inline cockpit would have; 1.25 meter parts just have so little clearance in the mk2 cargo bay that there's virtually no room left over for any wheels. Even using the landing-gear-as-outriggers trick I used in the Hypatia II rover can't quite keep the rover wheels from clipping into either the part or the bay doors.