Kerbal Space Program: Joolian Moons - Bop

Mission: Land a Kerbal on Laythe, Pol, and Bop in a single trip and return to Kerbin.

Part 1 - Laythe
Part 2 - Pol

Approaching Bop while attached to the interplanetary transport.

Lemfry approached Bop, the alleged home of the deep-space kraken. This fourth-nearest "moon" of Jool was situated between the tiny Pol and the enormous Tylo. Bop's orbit is noticeably irregular and makes the captured asteroid more difficult to encounter. As Lemfry neared Bop, it became clear that the asteroid, although less rugged than Pol, was home to a very mountainous landscape.

Lemfry enjoying the low gravity on Bop.

The landing procedure was no different than the one executed on Pol. The Pancake 3 lander was separated from the interplanetary transport, which was left orbiting the asteroid, and gently touched down on the low-gravity surface. On the surface, Bop was far less interesting than Pol, with only a few larger rocks scattered throughout and a very homogeneous landscape.

Lemfry exploring the Bop landscape.

Lemfry spent several days exploring the asteroid in search of the deep-space Kraken. The landing site, which was located within the largest impact crater, was searched thoroughly. Furthermore, the north and south poles were examined. These sites were Mission Control's best guess as to where such a creature might make its home. However, no such creature could be found on the desolate surface of Bop.

Removing deadweight before the return trip to Kerbin.

Returning to the Pancake 3 lander and ascending from Bop, Lemfry rendezvoused with the interplanetary transport. The distribution of fuel was rearranged and the outer four nuclear engines were separated and left in orbit around Bop. Lemfry considered making a quick stop on Vall, Jool's icy moon, thereby pushing four moon landings in a single mission, but ultimately decided against it.

Landing gently back home on Kerbin after decades in space.

Lemfry waited for the transfer window to Kerbin to open up and ignited the single nuclear engine of the Pancake 3. The journey home from Jool was largely uneventful, save for Lemfry's constant bragging to Gerlo about all the fun he was missing after having become stranded on Moho. Lemfry finally encountered Kerbin and entered its atmosphere without difficulty. The landing was only slightly complicated because the Pancake 3 was designed to have it's parachutes support only the innermost piece of the lander and not the entire vehicle. The landing required a small retrograde burn to help combat the force of gravity. Nonetheless, Lemfry returned safely to the surface of Kerbin.

Kerbal Space Program: Joolian Moons - Pol

Mission: Land a Kerbal on Laythe, Pol, and Bop in a single trip and return to Kerbin.

Part 1 - Laythe

Approaching Pol with the interplanetary transport.

After a successful first mission stage, Lemfry departed from Jool's innermost moon, Laythe, and rendezvoused with Jool's outermost moon. As the Pancake 3 spacecraft approached the small moon of Pol, the rugged features and coloured landscape of the alien world became distinguishable. The landing was expected to require very little fuel and consequently most of the fuel was removed from the lander and placed into the interplanetary transport. Lemfry placed the craft into low-orbit around the moon, separated the lander, and prepared for descent.

Landing on Pol. Various large rocks cover the surface.

The Pancake 3 lander descended by first removing all horizontal velocity and then performing a two-stage burn while descending. Lemfry feared the spacecraft might land directly on top one of the many spiraling rocks which peppered the Polian surface. However, these rocks were avoided as Lemfry touched down on the side of a gently rolling hill; a half-dozen meters away from one such rock.

The Pol landing site. A sharp rock was narrowly avoided!

Lemfry performed a variety of scientific experiments and collected samples which would be analyzed on Kerbin. There were many questions which needed to be answered about the obscurity of the moon. How did the landscape become so rugged on a moon with no atmosphere? What was the origin of the spiraling rocks? Was the moon volcanically active? The scientists on Kerbin would hope to find answers. In the meantime, Lemfry boarded the Pancake 3 lander, ascended from the moon, and docked with the interplanetary transport. Lemfry set a course of another of Jool's moons and alleged home of the infamous deep-space kraken.

Kerbal Space Program: Joolian Moons - Laythe

Mission: Land a Kerbal on Laythe, Pol, and Bop in a single trip and return to Kerbin.

Jool: Jupiter
Laythe: no analog
Pol: no analog
Bop: captured asteroid

Approaching Laythe with the interplanetary transport. Jool can be seen in the background.

The Kerbals were celebrating the success of the Laythian flight mission when Mission Control discovered a problem with the Robo-Mouse aircraft that could only be fixed with Kerbal hands. A mission plan was drawn up to send a Kerbal to Laythe and rendezvous with the aircraft. Lemfry Kerman volunteered for the mission and suggested visiting the Joolian moons of Pol and Bop on the return trip from Laythe. The improved Pancake 3 was chosen to be the spacecraft for the mission.

Landing on a beach of Laythe.

After numerous simulations, Lemfry entered the Joolian system and directly performed a harsh aerocapture with Laythe that placed the Pancake 3 into Laythe orbit. The orbit was circularized and the lander was separated from the interplanetary transport. Again, numerous simulations were required to determine a Laythe descent that would have the lander descend near the coast of one of Laythe's small landmasses. On the coast, the elevation would be lower and the atmosphere thicker. Lemfry discovered that the Pancake 3 lander required a very small amount of thrust when landing, which was not provided by parachutes. We would later discover that when returning to Kerbin, the landing craft would still require additional thrust. Nonetheless, Lemfry landed successfully on the coast of Laythe.

Flying the Robo-Mouse aircraft to the Pancake 3 landing site.

In a rather straightforward manner, the Robo-Mouse was flown over to Lemfry. The only complication was that the landing site was overshot and the aircraft was required to slowly spiral downwards. The aircraft landed uphill from the landing site and slowly rolled down to the hill to rendezvous with Lemfry.

The Laythe family!

The necessary maintenance on the Robo-Mouse was performed by Lemfry and a family photo was taken on the beach. Lemfry said his goodbyes, boarded the Pancake 3 lander, and prepared for his Laythe departure. Mission Control discovered that the lander had just enough fuel to achieve a Laythe orbit and not enough to rendezvous with the interplanetary transport. The orbital planes of the two spacecraft were matched and the orbits intersected near periapsis. However, the maneuvers required to reduce relative velocities to zero was performed by the interplanetary transport and not the lander.

Departing from Laythe and preparing to rendezvous with planetary transport.

In spite of these complications, Lemfry was able to return to the transport. The lander was refueled, unnecessary transport fuel tanks were discarded, and Lemfry directed the spacecraft to another of Jool's moons.

Kerbal Space Program: Laythe Aircraft

Mission: Fly an aircraft on Laythe!

Jool: Jupiter
Laythe: N/A

Pancake 3 with Robo-Mouse launch.

Mission Control was feeling very ambitious after the success of the Mouse aircraft on Kerbin. The Kerbals were curious to find out if the "laws of flight" worked equally well on alien worlds. We would send an unmanned aircraft to Laythe, one of Jool's moons, to answer this question directly. A probe version of the Mouse was developed by replacing the cockpit with a probe core and reactionary wheel. The new Robo-Mouse craft was tested on Kerbin and was discovered to fly equally well. The Pancake 3 prototype had just been developed (for a Moho rescue mission) and would be responsible for delivering the Robo-Mouse to Jool and Laythe. A handful of small adjustments were made to fit the Robo-Mouse to the Pancake 3 and the spacecraft was launched.

Scouting a landing site with our Laythe Satellite.

The small Laythe Satellite we had put into orbit many decades ago was useful for locating a landing site on the mostly liquid-covered moon. A pair of very large islands were spotted in the northern hemisphere. The high plateau on the south of the eastern island would be the landing site for the Robo-Mouse.

The Robo-Mouse flying within the Laythe atmosphere.

Laythe entry was achieve in a highly dramatic fashion. Instead of performing an aerocapture maneuver with Jool and a transfer to Laythe, Mission control directed the craft to immediately approach the Laythe within 20km while traveling at several kilometers per second. In other universes this approach might have torn the entire spacecraft apart in a wondrous fireball, but that is not our universe! The Laythian atmosphere slowed the spacecraft down to a few hundred meters per second, which was spiraling out of control as it quickly approach the ocean surface. The Robo-Mouse was separated from the Pancake 3 spacecraft and the quickly steered away from its collision course. We were achieving the previously unthinkable: flight on an alien world!

Approaching a landing site.

The Robo-Mouse consumed approximately one quarter of it's fuel arriving at the landing site scouted by the Layhe Satellite. The Robo-Mouse had previously landed on a very small island and reascended to insure the aircraft was operating as expected on Laythe. The Robo-Mouse aircraft disabled its engines and gently floated down towards it's final landing site. It was a mission success!

Kerbal Space Program: Aircraft Development

Mission: Design and test Kerbin aircraft.

The Mouse aircraft.

Although the Kerbals had become proficient with many aspects of space travel and exploration, the elusive art of building, flying, and landing aircraft had long remained legend. A new branch of the Kerbal Space Program was to be established which would focus entirely on aircraft development. The first order of business was to hire brave "pilots" and prototype a variety of aircraft. We would be the first conquer the area of sky in between land and space!

The first aircraft developed (capable of flight) was the Mouse. The Mouse accommodated one brave Kerbal, utilized a very small amount fuel, and was exceptionally light. Sigfried Kerman was chosen to be the first aircraft pilot and instructed to fly the aircraft to the large island east of the Kerbal Spaceport. The complete return trip required approximately one hour and 3/4 of the Mouse's fuel. Sigfried's flight was ultimately successful (save for difficulty reentering the aircraft); thereby cementing his position as the Kerbal Space Program's best (and only) pilot.

Mouse approaching a large island.