Campaign: Sample Return Missions

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The economy is booming, and after another civil war that saw nuclear weapons detonated (not joking), Donald Krump was removed from office and executed for unleashing smallpox on Kexico. The new president, Hillary Klinton, has restored the KSCs funding to pre-corporatist levels. Now with the pressure of the public at large and Big Brother breathing down their necks, the Rocket Engineers have drawn out a plan to scope out a orgy of planets to land on. With probes, of course. Manned missions are way less safe than probe ones.

The 3-Stage Mission format is based on current NASA plans for a proposed Mars sample-return mission.

Specifications

• Length: 5-12 hours
• Difficulty: 8/10 (Expert)
• Skills needed: Advanced understanding of orbital mechanics, interplanetary travel experience, asteroid rendezvous, and landing skills on airless, huge moons. Simple. As long as you can return them.

• For version: Every version

Missions

Icarus Asteroid Lander

After swinging the Kubble telescope around a bit, the KSC astronomers has discovered a Huge Class E asteroid, expected to swing close to Kerbin in a few years. After doing some calculations, they have found that it will not shatter Kerbin into a million pieces, but it is perfect for a robotic lander to latch a sample from it. Here are the requirements:

• Find an asteroid with a Periapsis that is below Mun orbit, and a class E.
• Send a robotic lander there, and take a sample (just touch the rock with a Communotron 16)
• The land must have a comm device (besides from the sampler)
• It must have parachutes
• It must have 2 solar panels
• It must be unmanned.
• You must RETURN, not transmit all scientific data.
• It must have enough charge to last through the night.
• It must have all science equipment.
• It must return to Kerbin undamaged.
• Must have a small probe to permanently stay with the asteroid. Requirements:

Daedalus Asteroid Monitor

• Must have a communtron 88
• Must have a thermometer, Science lab Jr, a seismometer, and mystery goo.
• Must be unmanned
• Must have 2 solar panels and at least 1,000 charge
• Must have a backup probe core.
• Must have 2 backup RTG.

Mun 3-stage Test Mission

This is a test of the 3-stage sample return mission, each with a different spacecraft. The spacecrafts can be individual missions, or they can separate from a large craft when reaching the destination. The 2nd and 3rd stages could be combined as one craft. Here is the basic idea:

1. Collect Samples from the body's surface with rovers or probes. This craft requires drilling and basic analysis equipment, and it must be durable enough to withstand years on the surface. It's unreasonable to put a large rocket on this probe.
2. Retrieve the samples from the surface. Landing on the surface and returning to orbit requires lots of rocket power, but it only has to endure a day or so on the surface. It may be possible to collect resources for rocket fuel when on the surface. The samples are easier to preserve for long duration in the vacuum of space.
3. Transfer the samples from orbit to a return trip to Kerbin. This is a simple inter-planetary probe with a heat shield and parachute for landing on Kerbin.

Launch a sample-collection craft on Mun.

• It can either be a rover or rocket-powered probe.
• Include a docking port to transfer collected samples to the next probe.

1. Land softly on Mun
2. Collect samples from 3 or more locations.
3. Wait for the next stage

Launch a sample-retrieval lander.

• Launch a probe to collect the samples from the surface and bring them to orbit.
• Include a docking port or other retrieval mechanism (fake stock or modded robotic arm).

1. Land near the sample-collecting probes
2. Retrieve the samples (bring probes within 3 m of the craft).
3. Launch into orbit around Mun.
4. [Optional] Return samples safely to Kerbin.

[Optional] Launch a sample-transfer probe.

1. Rendezvous with the sample-retrieval probe.
2. Dock and obtain the samples.
3. Return safely to the surface of Kerbin.

Nyx Eve Lander

The next stop is Eve. The people at KSC want as much data as possible about Eveian landing conditions,and because they feel miffed that they were forced to send a rover there first. Behind your back, you here Gene Kerman say something about wiping EV3 1 and 2 off the official records. Here are the requirements:

• Must be unmanned
• Must have all scientific data.
• Must have enough charge to last through the night.
• Must have 2 solar panels AT LEAST.
• Must have parachutes.
• Must have landing legs.
• Must have a commuotron 88
• Must touch the ground with a coomuntron 16 (sampling)
• must land in a crater
• Must deploy 3 probes

Erebus Mapsat

• Must have 2 solar panels and enough charge to last through the night
• Must be unmanned
• Must have a communotron 88
• Must have an eject-able propulsion system
• Must be situated in a polar orbit
• Must have an apoapisis and periapsis of 250,000 m with only 1,000 m deviation
• Tip: Not neccesary, but you can download the ISA mapsat mod.

Aether Comsat 1

• Must have 2 solar panels and enough charge to last through the night
• Must be unmanned
• Must have a communotron 16
• Must have an eject-able propulsion system
• Must be situated in a geostationary Eve orbit
• Must have an inclination of 0
• Must have an apoapisis and periapsis of 10,373,959 m with a deviation of no more than 10 KILOMETERS, not meters.
• Tip: Not necessary, but you can download the Remotetech mod.

Aether Comsat 2

• Must have 2 solar panels and enough charge to last through the night
• Must be unmanned
• Must have a communotron 16
• Must have an eject-able propulsion system
• Must be situated in a geostationary Eve orbit
• Must have an apoapisis and periapsis of 10,373,959 m with a deviation of no more than 10 KILOMETERS, not meters.
• Must have an inclination of 0
• Must be 90 degrees apart from the Aether commsat 1.
• Tip: Not neccesary, but you can download the Remotetech mod.