Minmus

Minmus/Data

Minmus is a small moon of Kerbin. From the surface of Kerbin or Mun, it is a cyan speck one or two pixels wide which appears to slightly oscillate vertically. This is a result of viewing its rotation from afar. Up close, it is off white in appearance with what seem to be icy buttes, large hills, and frozen lakes. The highest areas are over 5.7 km in altitude. It requires more delta-v to reach Minmus orbit than Mun orbit, however it is easier to land on the surface and return.

Orbital Characteristics

• Synodic Period from Kerbin's Surface: 14 days, 3 hours, 1 second (1220401 seconds)

Synchronous orbit around Minmus is possible at an altitude of 0.00 m.

Jumping on this moon will make you ascend 6m from the ground

Topography

Minmus has a very uneven surface, with substantial areas over 5 km high and a maximum terrain elevation of 5725 m. The vast majority of the surface is rolling hills, with lakes of a frozen substance (or salt, as Minmus is too close to the Sun for water ice to form) concentrated near the equator. The lakes are almost perfectly flat and mostly at datum altitude (0 m). Minmus also has some mesas which are so high compared to Minmus' sphere of influence, that they still count as in orbit according to the navigation tools. This makes landing on these plateaus more challenging, because the direction marker and speed don't correct for the rotation of the surface. (This is easily fixed by switching to Surface mode manually, by clicking on the velocity display.)

For most landings (non-plateau and non-lake), expect touchdown at an altitude of between 2000m and 2500m.

Reference Frames

Time warp	Minimum Altitude
1×	Any
5×	3 000 m
10×	3 000 m
50×	6 000 m
100×	12 000 m
1 000×	24 000 m
10 000×	48 000 m
100 000×	60 000 m

Gallery

• 

  A full projection map of Minmus as of version 0.15 and above

• 

  A topographic map of Minmus made with the ISA MapSat plugin

• 

  A topographic heightmap of Minmus made with the ISA MapSat plugin

• 

  Mun and Kerbin as seen from the surface of Minmus

• Screen Shot 2013-07-28 at 5.17.33 PM.png

  A lander escaping Minmus

Trivia

• The name "Minmus" may be derived from the Latin word "minimus", which denotes the smallest member of a group of beings or creatures. Minmus is the smallest member of the Kerbin system.
• It is possible to land and takeoff from Minmus with the EVA jetpack at 100% fuel.

Changes

0.17

• Minmus is no longer tidally locked to Kerbin.
• Minmus' mass reduced.
• Synchronous orbit is now possible. Previously, it would have required an altitude of 0.00 m, outside Minmus' sphere of influence.

0.15

• Initial Release

See also

Tutorial on travelling from Kerbin to Minmus