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.