Kerbal Space Program: Mun Base - Vehicle Failures

Mission: Develop and test new vehicles for operation at the Mun Base.

Mun: Moon

The Kerbal Space Program was missing variety in their selection of vehicles designed for terrestrial transportation and exploration. We had conquered the challenges of landing and returning from a variety of planets and moons, but realized much later that poking at rocks on the surface might be worthwhile. The -ollo landers were capable of landing Kerbals and the Lobster rovers provided very stable movement around the surface, but neither were sufficient for traveling long distances quickly and regularly. It was decided that Mun would once again prove to be a useful testing location for our new vehicles. A variety of prototypes were created and tested.

Rover A Prototype

The Rover A prototype was designed to be as flat and light as possible. The intent was to allow it to travel as fast as possible with very little danger of flipping when a small bump was encountered. Initially testing revealed that it was near-impossible to flip the rover. However, the rover was unable to turn effectively and the design was scrapped.

Rover B Prototype

The Rover B prototype attempted to improve on the turning efficiency of the Rover A. The size of the rover was reduced and the wheels brought closer together. The Rover B was capable of turning relatively efficiently and was reasonably stable when traveling at high speeds. The design was scrapped when further iterations revealed that, when fully equipped, the improvements over the Lobster design were minimal and not pressing.

Beans 1

The Kerbals instead decided to design a small, liquid-fuel based landing craft capable of traveling large distances on Mun, touching down, and returning to the Mun Base. The craft needed to be as light as possible. It was meaningful to design the vehicle to use extremely little fuel so that fewer entire Mun Base refueling trips would be required over time. The Beans 1 craft was tested on the surface of Kerbal and then shuttled to Mun. It wasn't until the craft was landed that the Kerbals realized it lacked solar panels and batteries; the control mechanisms were ineffective.

Beans 2

As an improvement over Beans 1, the Beans 2 Munner craft was equipped with solar panels and additional fuel tanks. The vehicle was capable of traversing small distances very quickly while being able to return to the Mun Base to refuel. Unfortunately, the Kerbals had no patience to fill each of the twelve fuel tanks individually and simulations discovered that the craft was not capable of rescuing a 70-year-stranded Bill Kerman. The vehicle was destroyed by the Kerbals in a fit of frustration and an order for a Beans 3 Munner craft was placed with Mission Control.