Difference between revisions of "Eve"

Revision as of 01:24, 4 May 2015

Eve
Eve as seen from orbit.
Planet of Kerbol
Orbital Characteristics
Semi-major axis		9 832 684 544 m [Note 1]
Apoapsis		9 931 011 387 m [Note 1]
Periapsis		9 734 357 701 m [Note 1]
Orbital eccentricity		0.01
Orbital inclination		2.1 °
Argument of periapsis		0 °
Longitude of the ascending node		15 °
Mean anomaly		3.14 rad (at 0s UT)
Sidereal orbital period		5 657 995 s
		261 d 5 h 39 m 55.1 s
Synodic orbital period		14 687 035.5 s
Orbital velocity		10 811 - 11 029 m/s
Physical Characteristics
Equatorial radius		700 000 m
Equatorial circumference		4 398 230 m
Surface area		6.1575216×1012 m2
Mass		1.2243980×1023 kg
Standard gravitational parameter		8.1717302×1012 m3/s2
Density		85 219.677 kg/m3
Surface gravity		16.7 m/s2 (1.701 g)
Escape velocity		4 831.96 m/s
Sidereal rotation period		80 500.000 s
		3 d 4 h 21 m 40 s
Solar day		81 661.857 s
		3 d 4 h 41 m 1.9 s
Sidereal rotational velocity		54.636 m/s
Synchronous orbit		10 328.47 km
Sphere of influence		85 109 365 m [Note 1]
Atmospheric Characteristics
Atmosphere present		Yes
Atmospheric pressure		506.625 kPa
		5 atm
Atmospheric height		90 000 m
		5.0×10-6 atm
Temperaturemin		-113.13 °C 160.02 K
Temperaturemax		146.85 °C 420 K
Oxygen present		No
Scientific multiplier
Surface		8
Splashed		8
Lower atmosphere		6
Upper atmosphere		6
Near space		7
Outer space		5
Recovery		5
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The distances are given from the body's center, not from the surface (unlike ingame)

Eve is the second planet from Kerbol, the closest planet to Kerbin, and KSP's analogue for the planet Venus. It has one small moon: a captured asteroid called Gilly. Mainly because of the atmosphere it's the hardest planet to return from after landing. Additionally, it has the highest surface gravity in the game, and the second highest radius (only Jool's radius is larger). Aerobraking on Eve is also more deadly due to its dense atmosphere, which means spacecraft are more likely to explode due to overheating before reaching land.

In-game Description

Topography

The surface of Eve looks not unlike that of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. It has several oceans, among which lie large, flat continents. The terrain has a few mountain peaks, but mostly consists of rolling hills that resemble purple sand dunes. These are speckled with small boulders, no doubt worn down by Eve's pressure, temperature, and wind. Eve's surface is covered with craters. The composition of the violet liquid which fills the oceans and lakes is unknown, although water remains a possibility: the boiling point of water is slightly higher than the surface temperature when taking the high atmospheric pressure into account.^[1] According to the devs during a livestream, it was joked that the lakes were made of rocket fuel^{[citation needed]}. Eve's highest mountain range has a peak of 7526 m.

Atmosphere

A comparison of the atmospheres of Eve and Kerbin

Eve's atmosphere begins at 96,708.6 m and is extremely dense: at 11,250 m, it's as thick as Kerbin's atmosphere at sea level (1 atm), and at Eve sea level the atmospheric pressure is 5 atm. Its atmospheric pressure fades exponentially, with a scale height of 7000 m. The atmosphere should be superheated due to the thick atmosphere trapping in heat, much like Venus, but this is not currently implemented.

In general, the atmospheric pressure on Eve at an altitude expressed in meters is:^[2]

${\displaystyle p_{e}=5\ e^{-altitude/7000}}$

From within Eve's atmosphere, the sky appears indigo during nighttime and a violet-purple color during daytime. During dawn and dusk, the sky is green.

Jet engines do not function in Eve's atmosphere, since it contains no oxygen — they make noise and consume fuel, but they produce no thrust. Planes with other propulsion methods do, however, work very well, and are a great way to explore the planet. They work best between 35 km and 25 km where the atmosphere generates enough lift to glide and steer, but not enough drag to slow the aircraft excessively.

Landing legs on Eve can easily break because of Eve's high gravity and, surprisingly enough, atmospheric pressure.

As of version 0.90^[outdated], an aerobraking maneuver arriving from Kerbin and resulting in orbit around Eve — without using fuel for braking — can be done aiming for a periapsis between 70 km (for low-energy transfer) and 55 km (for high-energy transfers).

The following table gives terminal velocities at different Eve altitudes. These are also the velocities at which a ship should travel for a fuel-optimal ascent from Eve, given the game's model of atmospheric drag.^[3]

Science

Eve's orbit and atmosphere have a science multiplier of 7, which is rather average. But the surface has a multiplier of 12, which is the third highest science multiplier in the whole star system. Eve has 7 biomes with their own science to be collected. It has several Explodium Seas, among which lie large continents.

Biome list

Eve In-game biome map as of 1.2

Poles Explodium Sea Lowlands Midlands Highlands Peaks Impact Ejecta

Natural satellites

Eve's only natural satellite is the tiny captured asteroid Gilly in a highly eccentric and inclined orbit. Gilly is the smallest celestial body in the Kerbol system.

Orbital statistics

Visiting Eve potentially requires the least delta-v of any planet because its huge gravity well and dense atmosphere mitigate the difficulties that its slight relative inclination poses and greatly ease aero-captures, transfers, and landings; unfortunately, takeoff and escape therefore require the most delta-v of any celestial body with a solid surface.

The combination of high gravity and thick atmosphere makes return missions from the sea level of Eve very difficult. It requires about 11,500 m/s of delta-v to get into orbit from sea level. Driving to and launching from the peak of one of Eve's mountains can drastically reduce the amount of delta-V required (thus allowing successful launches with significantly lighter rockets). The highest peak on Eve since version 0.21.1 is 7540 m high, found near (25° S, 158.5° W)

A synchronous orbit of Eve requires an altitude of 10373.195 km and a velocity of 858.95 m/s. For a semisynchronous orbit of ½ Eve day (11.25 hours or 40500 seconds) an orbit of 6275.676 km above Eve is needed with a velocity of 1082.2 m/s.

Reference Frames

Gallery

• 

  Orbiting Eve.

• 

  Eve (mid-left) and Gilly.

• 

  A topographic height map of Eve made with the ISA MapSat plugin. (Pre 0.18)

• 

  Eve landscape shot.

• 

  Another Eve landscape shot.

• 

  A Kerbal dropped from space.

• 

  Sunrises and sunsets on Eve can be really beautiful, with colors ranging from green to yellow to pink.

• 

  An unmanned plane in Eve's atmosphere.

• 

  A manned rover landing on the surface of Eve.

• 

  A large spacecraft aerobraking in Eve's upper atmosphere.

• 

  A user created probe on the surface of Eve at twilight

• 

  Marc Kerman floating in front of a large interplanetary Eve ship.

• 

  A picture of Eve taken by a space telescope. Notice the "rings" which eventually marks Eve.

Bugs

• Eve has higher gravity than Kerbin, restricting a Kerbal's jump to only half a meter and making EVA jets useless. This being said, if a Kerbal falls from more than 4 m, they will hit the ground much harder than on Kerbin, which may cause a glitch to happen in which they will clip into the terrain and accelerate away from Eve at phenomenal speed, sometimes faster than the speed of light itself, usually sending the unlucky Kerbal on an escape trajectory from Kerbol if they are not killed by the fall. They may bring something into interstellar space with them if they hit an object instead of the ground.
• Solar panels will probably break off in flight, even with very low velocity. It's best to wait to extend them till stable on the surface, however they can break on the surface of Eve even when retracted. This may be due to Eve's high gravity.
• Rovers can be challenging to drive on Eve due to its gravity. The rover's wheels will easily break, but on the upside, since the gravity pulls them lower on their shocks and thus lowers the centre of mass, they will be harder to flip over. Although not a glitch, it could cause clipping issues with a kerbals sitting in EAS-1 External Command Seats

• When landing fast, craft will sometimes sink into the surface of Eve. This can be fixed by using landing legs to lift the ship up.

Changes

0.90

• Added biomes

0.21

• Terrain Tweaks — more land mass to the surface

0.18

• Art pass.
• Terrain tweaks — the tallest points are now about 6 km in altitude, compared to 11 km before.

0.17

• Initial Release

Notes

1. ↑ According to WolframAlpha the boiling temperature is about 2.5 K higher than the highest temperature measured.
2. ↑ A LV-N Atomic Rocket Motor has a specific impulse of 220 in 1 atm or higher, 800 in vacuum, and the following at various Eve altitudes:

   altitude (m)	11263	11268	11322	11598	11896	12200	12799	13868	14586	15292	16725	18711	22800	23556	32000	38000	43000	51963
   specific impulse	220	220.2	224.6	246.9	269.9	292.4	334.0	400.0	438.8	473.4	533.7	600.2	688.2	699.8	769.8	787.3	793.8	798.3

3. ↑ http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/6664-Mini-challenge-max-altitude-with-this-supplied-spacecraft?p=100912&viewfull=1#post100912

v t e Kerbol System Kerbol Moho Eve Kerbin Duna Dres Jool Eeloo (The Sun)   Gilly Mun Minmus Ike   Laythe Vall Tylo Bop Pol