Encounter

An encounter with the Mun

An encounter occurs when the projected flightpath of a spacecraft intersects the sphere of influence (representing the gravitational field) of a celestial body. Encounters are displayed in map view by an encounter node and a colorized trajectory path.

Upon arrival at an encounter node, the game switches the orbital reference of the craft to that of the encountered celestial body; an ideal moment to plan maneuvers to stabilize into an orbit. Orbits can be disturbed when time-warping across sphere of influence (SOI) changes. To maintain a carefully planned orbit, slow time to 1x as the ship transitions SOI's.

Encounters are essential for all munar and interplanetary travels. And to get back home.