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.