Kerbal Space Program: Mun Base - Mun Space Station

Mission: Construct a Mun Space Station to operate in concert with the Mun Base.

A Mun Space Station was constructed in low Kerbin orbit using many of the components from the Duna Space Station. The Mun Space Station was not designed to be initially as large and complex as its Duna counterpart, but rather provide a simple starting point that could be expanded upon in the future. The station utilized four nuclear engines, numerous fuel tanks of varying sizes, and a command module which contained enough room to accommodate up to five Kerbals. The station was equipped with a small ion-powered vessel for possible future station-to-station transfers.

Mun Space Station

The Mun Space Station departed from low Kerbin orbit and obtained an approximately circular orbit 100 KM above the equator of Mun. The Kerbals at the Mun Base were informed of the station becoming operational. Jebediah Kerman was placed as commander of the Mun Space Station and instructed to use the new Beans 4 transport craft to transfer from the base to the station. Jebediah boarded the craft and straightforwardly obtained an orbit around the Mun's equator.

Jebediah Departing for the Mun Space Station

After a terrible docking experience and arriving at the station, Jebediah ordered supplies be sent to the station. The supplies consisted primarily of liquid and RCS fuel, but also a variety of small ship parts, such as RCS thrusters and batteries. The Kerbals launched the requested supplies and docked them with the station without any troubles.

Mun Space Station Supply

Ronmon Kerman was instructed to install an RCS fuel tank and four RCS thruster blocks on the Beans 4 transport craft. The intention was to assist with docking maneuvers in the future. Ronmon performed EVA outside the station; removing the parts from the docked supply ship and upgrading Beans 4.

Ronmon Kerman Upgrading the Beans 4

Ronmon was then instructed by Jebediah to replace him at the Mun Base. A number of small tests and simulations were performed to ensure the transport craft remained functioning after it's upgrades. With three out of eight tests passing, Jebediah was confident about craft's capabilities. Ronmon boarded Beans 4 and departed from the Mun Space Station.

Ronmon Departs for the Mun Base

Ronmon arrived at the Mun Base with a great deal of difficulty. The added weight and reduced symmetry from having a outwardly facing RCS fuel tank resulted in the transport craft tilting during acceleration. All maneuvers needed to be completed very slowly and far in advance. Having become frustrated with Beans 4 introduced inefficiency, Ronmon spent the rest of the day removing the RCS components from the spacecraft. Mission Control was informed that a Beans 5 transport may be required in the near future!

Mun Base

Kerbal Space Program: Mun Base - Exploration

Mission: Mun Exploration

The Kerbals insisted on a more ambitious Mun exploration mission. The regions around the Mun equator had been navigated to some extent, and one of the more northern craters had been visited, but otherwise Mun was unexplored. Mission Control developed a mission plan that involved the Beans 3 Munner exploration craft orbiting Mun longitudally. Since the height of the tallest mountain on Mun was approximately 7 KM, an orbit slightly higher would allow for uninterrupted exploration of the Munner surface. Such a polar orbit, combined with Mun's rotation, would result in a gradual traversal of the entirety of Mun.

Mun Crater

Samsby Kerman volunteered to be the first Kerbalnaut to fly over the entirety of Mun. Samsby boarded Beans 3, ascended vertically, and began a combination of orbital maneuvers required to achieve an orbit with a height of 7 KM. Samsby traversed the surface of Mun at a speed of nearly half a kilometer per second, taking photographs and remarking on surface details. The expedition required many weeks before the craft was once again repositioned nearly above the Mun Base and a descent maneuver could be executed.

Exploring Mun

Samsby observed that Munner features could be categorized broadly into three categories: featureless plains, impact craters, and sharply pointed mountains located at the poles. The pointed mountains were the most surprising, as a lack of erosion might suggest tectonic movement or volcanic activity. The impact craters were most probably a result of asteroid collisions and the plains a consequence of millions of years of erosion. Samsby remarked that at a height of 7 KM, it was too difficult to distinguish finer details.

Beans 4 Transport Craft

Upon returning to the Mun Base, Samsby was informed of mission plans to establish a Mun Space Station which would operate in concert with the Mun Base. A new transportation craft could be found outside of the base. The Beans 4 transportation vehicle had been designed with the capability of docking with orbital craft. Unfortunately, the craft lacked RCS thrusters and docking maneuvers would be extremely challenging. Nonetheless, the mission moved forward as planned!

Kerbal Space Program: Mun Base - Munner Craft

Mission: Design a craft to improve on the Beans 2 Munner craft.

Mun: Moon

Mission Control was busy designing an improved Munner transport and exploration craft. The craft needed to be very lightweight, contain solar panels and batteries, and have sufficient fuel in as few tanks as possible. The final result was the Beans 3 Munner craft.

Beans 3

The Beans 3 craft was a (reasonably) horizontally symmetric Munner craft equipped with 90 units of liquid fuel in two fuel tanks. The Kerbal Mun Base was capable of storing 1440 units of fuel, which would allow for at least 16 full missions. A small light was attached to the front of the vehicle to assist with night landings and a refueling port was placed in the rear.

Beans 3 was shuttled to Mun and landed directly at Bill Kerman's location. Bill boarded the craft and began traveling towards the Mun Base.

Mun Base Being Refueled

Meanwhile, a delivery of fuel was sent from Kerbin to the Mun Base. The Kerbals were fortunate to design a refueling landing craft capable of landing completely full of fuel. Samsby Kermin performed an EVA, connected the two spacecraft, and refueled the Mun Base entirely.

Beans 3 Refueling

Bill arrived soon after at the Mun Base and Samsby assisted with refueling Beans 3. With the spacecraft refueled, Bill plotted a leisurely flight to the northern craters of Mun. The flight was a distance approximately 1/4 the way around Mun. Bill completed the voyage and returned without much difficulty. The Kerbals were overjoyed with their new Munner toy.

A Munner Voyage

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.