Kerbal Space Program: Duna Outpost Improvements and Ike Expedition

Mission: Improve the Duna Outpost's facilities and gather science from Ike.

Airdropping a Duna-Ike spacecraft (foreground) and two rovers (background) near the Duna Outpost.

With life support capabilities successfully installed on Duna, the next phase of Duna-Ike system development was giving the Kerbals mobility in the form of rovers and spacecraft. A very simple wheeled rover and a nuclear-powered spacecraft were designed and transported to Duna. The two rovers and spacecraft were accompanied by kerbalnaut Bill Kerman and airdropped within ten kilometers of the Duna outpost.

Showcasing the improved facilities of the Duna Outpost. In order from left to right: greenhouse, rover, Duna-Ike spacecraft, Kethane module, habitat module.

The rovers were driven and the Duna-Ike Express spacecraft flown to the Duna Outpost and refueled. After the necessary vehicle assessments were performed, Bill Kerman immediately launched for the tidally locked moon Ike. The Duna-Ike Express had been designed to be capable of launching from the surface of Duna, landing on Ike, and returning safely to the surface of Duna. The spacecraft was a resounding success and gathered much science from the moon of Ike. With transportation facilities established, the next phase of development would involve establishing permanent science labs on the planet.

The Duna-Ike Express returning to Duna.

Kerbal Space Program: Ike Rescue

Mission: Rescue Gerlo Kerman from Ike

Top-Left: Transferring directly from Duna orbit to an Ike orbit. Top-Right: Planning the landing near the stranded Kerbal. Bottom: Landing on Ike in the darkness.

Our mission was to rescue Gerlo Kerman from the surface of Ike after being stranded for several years. After running a handful of simulations, the Kerbals decided an interplanetary tug would be unnecessary to accomplish the rescue. The mission was simple: transfer to Ike, achieve a stable orbit, land a few kilometers away from Gerlo (because landing on a rotating object is tricky!), rescue Gerlo, and head back to the station.

The Dunollo 1 lander was fueled up, remote guidance activated, and undocked from the Duna Space Station. We used our Poodle engine for the entirety of the mission to capitalize on its high fuel efficiency in a vacuum. The lander transferred smoothly to Ike and achieved an orbit without any additional effort. We then had the lander accelerate retrograde to it's orbit to have us in a near-straight descent onto Ike. With adjustments we managed to land within three kilometers of Gerlo's location.

Gerlo Kerman says his goodbyes.

Gerlo Kerman had initially been deployed with our older Lobster model buggy which allowed him drive around the surface of Ike. Unfortunately, the Dunollo 1 landing site was up a mountain from Gerlo and he grew impatient with waiting for the Lobster to climb such heights. Gerlo decided he would capitalize on Ike having no atmosphere and used his jetpack to travel at speeds upwards of 100m/s towards the landing site. He arrived safely at the landing site, said his goodbyes, and prepared to escape Ike.

Launching from Ike.

Gerlo launched straightforwardly from Ike and obtained an orbit around the moon. The Kerbals at mission control calculated the appropriate ejection angle which would transfer Gerlo to an orbit around Duna. Gerlo performed the maneuver and followed up with an orbital rendezvous with the Duna Space Station.

Left: Arriving at Duna. Right: Approaching the Duna Space Station.

The Kerbals again became aware of the terrible arrangement of thrusters on the Dunollo 1 which made docking immensely stressful. They concluded that any future Dunollo 2 lander design would have at least eight thrusters instead of four. Most of which in the proper locations! Regardless, Gerlo arrived home at the station safely and was reunited with the Kerbals he hadn't seen in several years. After a short violent outburst of frustration over being abandoned on a desolate moon for nearly a decade, Gerlo was convinced that damaging the station wouldn't be in his best interests. The Kerbals would spend the next few days relaxing and enjoying the view over Duna.