Mirphe and Samner head west from the landing site, at the highlands, hoping to reach the midlands! So far the rover initially designed for Duna appears quite capable on Moho!
“Definitely no problem with power… we’re so close to the sun the solar panels are almost dangerously hot!” -Samner
Suddenly, a strange rock formation appears on the horizon…
“What could that be!?” -Mirphe
Mirphe drives the rover closer and closer!
“Temperature is rising as we approach… be careful!” -Samner
It looks like some kind of massive magma formation – Kerbal astronomers call them “Moon Frowns!” -Samner
“Well that’s a terribly silly name! “ -Mirphe
“The technical name is a Wrinkle Ridge… it’s the result of magma settling after cooling!” -Samner
“I think ‘Wrinkle Ridge’ is even sillier!” -Mirphe
Samner directs the scanning arm, taking proper measurements of the ‘Wrinkle Ridge!’
Endeavor arrives at Moho! The engines begin automatically firing to capture in orbit. Meanwhile, the crew is woken up from Cryo-Stasis!
“Brrr! We must have arrived! I need to get to the command module, I hear the engines firing!” -Mirphe
Gillian and Samner wake up too, and start preparations for entering orbit!
The burn to capture orbit is nearly 15 minutes long!
It takes a while, but eventually the final orbit is reached…
A very close 15k orbit above the surface! Another burn occurs to take Endeavor’s inclination closer to Moho’s equator – everything is being done to get as much deltaV out of the onboard lander as possible!
“Mission Control, this is Mirphe… Ideal orbit achieved! Endeavor preparing for crewed Moho Landing!” -Mirphe
Back at mission control, everyone cheers!
“Get some rest for the surface mission Endeavor!” -Gene, at Mission Control
The crew for DSV-4’s first mission is announced – Pilot Mirphe, Engineer Gillian, and Scientist Samner! The crew board Aurora 25, carrying the Moho lander and a Rover!
The rover is the exact design of the most recent Aurora mission – Aurora 24, using the RCS deployer.
Aurora 25 blasts off!
“All dials look good… systems nominal.” -Mirphe
The solids detach, and the second stage ejects shortly after, bringing Aurora 25 to orbit!
“Now we just need to rendezvous with Endeavor!” -Gillian
“Easier said than done! These DSV payload/crew missions are one of the most complicated piloting challenges!” -Samner
“Roger that! Good luck!” -Gene, at Mission Control
The Aurora 25 Crew Vehicle moves in to dock with Endeavor!
“Success! We’re docked! Switching controls over to the Moho Lander… starting Lander Docking Maneuver!” -Mirphe
The lander detaches from the rover, and slowly moves in closer and closer to Endeavor’s cargo bay! The primary communications dish is retracted to avoid any incidents!
“Almost there…. got it!” –Mirphe
Next, all cargo is unloaded from the Aurora Crew Vehicle, which disconnects!
“OK Mirphe… sensors show the ACV is clear of Endeavor. You’re good to remotely pilot the rover on over!” -Samner
Mirphe pilots the rover, using about 20% of it’s RCS fuel.
“Ok, rover captured! Let’s get the cargo bay closed and head out!” –Mirphe
“Reactor at full… radiators show nominal flow… crew and supplies stowed… I think we’re good to fire the engine!” –Gillian
“Course has been fed into the computer, we’re ready!” –Samner
With that, Mirphe fires the Colossus Engine, and the nuclear engine carries Endeavor on it’s way to Moho!
“Burn almost complete!” -Mirphe
Endeavor’s engines stop firing, and the spacecraft appears to be on course for Moho! In a few days the crew will enter cryo-stasis and rest for their interplanetary voyage!
Onboard the Spaceport, Engineer Kerlorf reports his stomach feels strange… so KSEA decides to return him to the surface just in case!
The Aurora Crew Vehicle detaches from the station…
… then reenters the atmosphere, landing near the waters at KSC!
“After a thorough examination our science team has indicated Engineer Kerlorf was just hungry! We’ve administered a healthy amount of snacks, and he should be good as new in a day!” -Gene
Construction begins on Aurora 25 – the mission to bring crew, a lander, and a rover to DSV-4 Endeavor! The mission details including destination and crew will be announced shortly!
Malcolm, Dunwin, and Shepely leave the lander and set foot on the dusty red surface of Duna!
“We made it!! The satellite scans show the anomaly is 800m away … Sorry we couldn’t land closer!”
-Malcolm
“It’s ok! I can walk that far, no problem! Should be plenty of life support and EVA fuel!“
-Shepely
Shepely heads west, toward the anomalous reading the survey satellite detected…
After a long walk, and a few ‘EVA hops’, Shepely arrives at the anomaly!
“Wow! It’s huge! Looks like another mysterious Monolith! The dimensions look identical to the one by the space center and I’m Mun and Minmus… Fascinating!”
-Shepely
Next, Shepely explores the region around the Monolith!
Not too far from the Monolith is a large Duna Rock!
“Hmmm… Can’t get much of a sample with my tools… We’ll need a rover arm to really get a good sample!”
-Shepely
Next, Shepely heads over to an odd rock formation…
The strange blueish hued stones are quite odd!
“Weird! These look like big stone blueberries! I’ll get a good sample!
-Shepely
After gathering some Duna Blueberry samples, Shepely heads back to the lander!
Malcolm helps Shepely load his samples into the lander, then all 3 Kerbals begin unloading the surface science equipment for Shepely to set up!
“This looks like a good spot! Good thing we brought the RTG power supplies… Not enough solar power is available down here!”
-Shepely
“Lookin’ good!”
-Malcolm
“Yeah! The ground science equipment should be fully deployed… The relay satellites in orbit should be able to have ongoing communication with Kerbin!”
-Dunwin
Before heading back to the Spaceport there’s just one thing to do…
The lander fires it’s aerospike engine! This mission will be to investigate some anomalous readings detected from orbit!
Unlike previous Duna Landers that entered the atmosphere “engine first”, the Advanced Duna Lander enters “nose first” like a spaceplane!
The rear airbrakes provide just enough lift!
“Lander is on course for target… Atmosphere is slowing us down a bit more than expected… We’ll need a short engine burn to adjust our approach!” -Malcolm
The engine fires, and the lander accelerates enough to stay on target!
“Oh wow! We’re really close to the surface! Speed is down to 200 m/s…. Is that enough to deploy the parachute?”
-Dunwin
“Not quite! Almost at target…. Almost… Deploy the chute!!”
-Malcolm
The landing parachute deploys! The airbrakes retract and the landing gear deploys!
This is one of the most dangerous phases of the mission, as the landing gear and airbrakes must retract with the parachute cords clear so nothing gets jammed or tangled! The chute then lifts the nose up, and orient’s the lander for landing!
“Chute is deployed, gear is down and locked! Starting slow burn to decelerate!”
-Malcolm
The lander slows to just 1 m/s as it gently sets down!
“Mission Control, this is Explorer 7 Lander .. we have set down on Duna! All systems are good!”
-Malcolm
On Kerbin, cheers fill Mission Control! The new lander performed perfectly!
“Nice work everyone!”
-Gene, at Mission Control
Malcolm, Dunwin, and Shepely will rest for a day, then suit up and head outside!
Kerbal States | Kerbin Space Exploration Administration 