Pol

Pol is the smallest of the five natural satellites of Jool. Pol is in a large orbit, with moderate eccentricity and inclination, which indicates it may be a captured asteroid, like Gilly and Bop. The terrain is (proportionally) quite rough, with large ridges that make it resemble a pollen grain. The tallest mountains are very roughly 3-4 km high. The moon is easy to land on due to its extremely low gravity, which makes bipropellant engines somewhat redundant - landing can be completed with RCS thrusters only. Pol is tidally locked to Jool.

Topography

File:Screenshot115.png

Pol's uneven surface with Jool and Laythe in the backround.

Pol has many unique characteristics. For one, it has many spiked mountains and very large cliffs that can reach up to 4km high. Its surface appears to be composed of various phosphoric compounds and is covered in peculiar spire-shaped rocks. Pol has the second-lowest surface gravity in the Kerbol system, and only Eve's moon Gilly is less massive. Pol has a slightly inclined orbit, and it is the furthest body away from Jool, suggesting that it is a captured asteroid. Because of its low gravity, Pol has a rough and uneven surface that resembles a deliciously moldy orange.

Reference Frames

An orbit under 3000 meters, is unwise, as it will almost always result in colliding with a mountain, spire, or plateau.

Surface Texture

The surface of Pol is wrinkled and uneven, as a result of low gravity. Many mountain ranges are circular, and form a bowl shaped valley. A rover is hard to drive on the surface of Pol because of the uneven terrain and low gravity. Pol's Greenish-orange appearance may come from colladiom, various ices, phosphorous,sulfuric compounds, iron, arsenic,chromium and carbon. Pol has a smooth surface compared to Bop, despite lower gravity. This suggests volcanic activity that re-paved the surface, or that Pol was formed via low-velocity accretion at relatively low temperatures.

Gallery

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  A successful landing of a user created RCS Lander on Pol.

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  A map view of Pol contrasted to Jool.

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  A motion image of a Kerbalnaut enjoying Pol's outrageously low gravity.

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  A topographic height map of Pol as of Version 0.18.1 made with the ISA MapSat plugin.

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  A probe falling down a 45º hill on Pol.

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  A successful landing on Pol.

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  A probe lander looking into a dark, sinister looking mountain spire.

Changes

0.18.2

• Mass increased by ~3.16x, semi-major axis increased.

0.18

• Initial Release

Trivia

• Pol's name is likely derived from its uncanny resemblance to a grain of pollen.
• Pol's name may or may not have anything to do with the T.V. show The Incredible Dr. Pol on the National Geographic channel.