Mun Base Locations

[Barefoot Friar]

I'm having a really hard time finding suitably flat place to put a modular base on the Mun. I've been using the maps I've found online and I've been sending probes, rovers, and manned landers to check out every place I can find, but I'm still missing that magic spot. Something within about ten degrees of the equator, with several hundred square meters of <2° (Zero is best, of course) slope. Where have you found flat ground to put your bases?

Or, alternately, I'm perfectly willing to do my own legwork, but I need a few tips about how to find those magic spots. I've tried the idea of cruizing really low over the Munar surface -- the problem is that everything looks nice from even an 8km orbit, so when I go to check it out later I'm disappointed. I've found a map at http://kerbalmaps.com that provides that info, but so far either I'm way too imprecise with my landings (and I've used MJ a few times to make sure it wasn't just me) or else the map isn't quite right. It hasn't put me on a cliff face yet, but the spots that looked okay from the map were too sloped in reality.

[Tank Buddy]

I can't give you any exact coordinates, but I did find some nice spots at the bottom of some craters. I sent rovers with upward facing probe cores first. Flat spots are pretty hard to come by. I would imagine there are some flat"er" places outside of the craters or in the very large ones.

[CalculusWarrior]

The Armstrong Memorial is in the middle of quite a flat plain, or at least it was a few versions ago. I should really go back and check.

[samstarman5]

There is some room to pay in around the memorial, but not too much. I would definitely say inside craters is probably the best place to go. For one, they do give you some protection from meteor showers(even though they don't actually occur, it is still fun to think of them as part of your base planning), and provide an extra visual target for future landings. (Besides the map icons and HUD markings, of course)

[Superfluous J]

I've had luck in all 3 of the big craters on the equator. The one on the left (Looking from Kerbin with North up) has the Armstrong Memorial on it and yes, it's still pretty flat around there. The one on the right (again from Kerbin's perspective) has a nice flat area just south of the arch on the north wall, and the farside crater had my first Kethane base ever and was very flat on the side closest to Kerbin.

[metalmouth7]

The problem is you're focusing on the equator. If you look at the real Apollo missions, they also had issues finding a suitably flat region of the lunar surface to land on. Whilst the inclination of our moon actually assisted them in this, saving them some dV, they still had to go outside their normal "comfort zone" when it came to their orbital inclination. You're best to do the same with your missions, pushing your landing zone parameters a little further out. While this will somewhat complicate later resupply missions and such (unless you carefully schedule your launches,) you'll have a lot more room to safely pick a suitable landing site.

[Rolanvorxariat]

Mines is one the rim of the East Farside crater, near the canyon. i put it there for biome science harvesting reasons.

It's pretty flat, but the large downside is that it doesn't face kerbin.

[CalculusWarrior]

For one, they do give you some protection from meteor showers

What, do meteors not strike the same place twice or something?

[magnemoe]

What, do meteors not strike the same place twice or something?

No but micrometeorites are the real danger, the 0.1-1 mm sized ones here the rim shields against the ones coming in pretty horizontal and its the ones who are most dangerous as they travel at low attitude for some distance increasing chance to hit anything

[LordFerret]

I landed somewhere about 80km WSW of the Armstrong Memorial and rovered in... there were some decent relatively flat stretches in the area I landed, 1-3 degree pitch.

[Flixxbeatz]

Did I just heard mun base?

[RainDreamer]

Try the huuge crater you see on map, or in the canyon near it.

[bitbucket]

The Armstrong Memorial is in the middle of quite a flat plain, or at least it was a few versions ago. I should really go back and check.

As of the last time I saw it in 0.90, it's right in between several kilometer-sized craters, but the area immediately around the memorial is reasonably flat and there's room enough for a decent-sized base.

[Barefoot Friar]

You guys rock. I'll take a look at higher latitudes, but if I can make the area around the memorial work I'll definitely use that.

[Finnan]

When I built my Mun Base I had 3 requirements: (1) On the equator, (2) Facing Kerbal and (3) Flat. I build it at 0° N. 40° E. Not prefect but it'll do.

[JimmyAgent007]

Can we get some pics?

I had a ok spot i named the Munar Shelf. Edge of a big crater halfway between the floor of the crater and the top. It was ok, but a bit slanted. Id actually prefer something totally outside a crater.

Edited February 12, 2015 by JimmyAgent007

[Roflcopterkklol]

My mun base is mobile

if anyone wants to use one can find the download link on my forum, be warned it is 700 parts.

(there is a version that comes with a launch system that will take you much further than just the mun.)

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/109004-Roflcopterkklol-Industries-is-back!-0-90-craft

Edited February 12, 2015 by Roflcopterkklol

[Finnan]

Can we get some pics?

The actual co-ordinates of my Mun Base is 0° 01' 01'' S, 40° 07' 40'' E some 450m to the East of my original landing site at 0° N 40°.

As per contract the base is on wheels after I landed, detached and terminated the engines, the base rolled down hill to its present location. Like I wrote earlier not a prefect location.

Looking East

Looking West

looking North

Looking South

[Barefoot Friar]

Very nice!

Mine's going to look an awful lot like Temstar's Modular Base Kit, although I've changed a few things to make it more like I want it. I've added a science module, for instance, and I've taken all the RTGs off so that I have a reason to have solar panels and a large battery bank. I'm playing around with the Near Future Tech parts, and I've got half a mind to put a nuke reactor onto the base at some point. I'll post up pics later when I've got it the way I want it.

[panzer1b]

I almost always land in craters, most have at least some flat area near the middle, and provided you have one thats big enough, you should have no isses with any base building.

Back when i used to work with modular bases (now i use vertical stacks as theyre cooler looking), i ususally split the base into a few sectors. Keeping each sector on a flat geometry segment, it makes it easy to make bases.

[JimmyAgent007]

Nice, seems kinda slanted but that could just be perspective. What about an image from the map view?

[Aegrim]

I built my first mum base next to one of the munoliths inside the large crater. Enough flat room to satisfy most people.

[Finnan]

Nice, seems kinda slanted but that could just be perspective. What about an image from the map view?

It's about 2° slant.

http://www.kerbalmaps.com/?body=Mun&loc=-0.0174,-319.873

Here's a better look of the terrain. Looking East. The bright dot in the center of the pic is a lander 500m above and 130m West of the Base.

[The Last Pioneer]

My mun base is mobile

if anyone wants to use one can find the download link on my forum, be warned it is 700 parts.

(there is a version that comes with a launch system that will take you much further than just the mun.)

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/109004-Roflcopterkklol-Industries-is-back!-0-90-craft

Dude you are a genius xD I def lol'ed with your other video jumping over the Kerbal Space Center xD

Edited February 12, 2015 by The Last Pioneer

[Roflcopterkklol]

Dude you are a genius xD I def lol'ed with your other video jumping over the Kerbal Space Center xD

Haha glad you like my craft man, i do try sometimes.