Traveling to Moho
Contents
Traveling to Moho
Moho is the closest planet to Kerbol, making it the first out of the current seven planets. You should not attempt this mission if you haven't done a mission returning from Gilly, Laythe, Tylo, Vall, Eeloo, or Eve, as Moho is the hardest planet to return from, except maybe Eve, Eeloo, Laythe, or a Jool Landing.
Crew
On this mission, you should (if you use the Mk1-2 Command Pod) have an Engineer, a Scientist, and a Pilot onboard, so if anything goes wrong, someone can fix the problem.
Specifications
- Length: 1-2 hours
- Difficulty: Hard
- For Version: 1.0.4
- You may want to attempt to land on Eve before Moho to get a feel for high Delta-V capture burns.
Pre-Construction Tips
- Use as many EAS-4 Strut Connectors as you need, you can never have enough struts.
- If you build a quite un-aerodynamic lander, you may want to invest in a Fairing.
- On boosters place Sepratron I's to push them away to not interfere with the main rocket.
The Rocket
Landing/ Return Stage
Moho has low gravity, so it is easy to get off the surface. For this stage, make something that can get from Moho orbit, land on Moho, and get back to Kerbin, which requires around 3000 Delta V (Liftoff from Minmus, orbit Mun, and safely land on Kerbin). To make this easier, you can bring mining tools, or leave the return rocket in orbit, land on Moho with another stage, and rendezvous with the return rocket to get back to Kerbin like the Apollo missions. Include batteries, and solar panels/PB-NUK Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. Warning: Moho's day is close to its year, so you could spend up to half a Moho year in Darkness.
Moho Injection Stage
Make this stage powerful enough to get from a Kerbol orbit, into a Moho orbit. This stage can be used for in orbit Science around Moho, just remember to collect your science before detaching the stage.
Kerbol Injection Stage
This stage should be the last 3.75m stage. Use the Kerbodyne KR-2L+ "Rhino" Liquid Fuel Engine, or just put any combination of high-power engines. If needed on the Orbiting Stage (see below), put a fairing around the engines to increase aerodynamics. This is an ideal stage for Kerbol orbit science gathering because it will be passing out of Kerbin's SOI and into Kerbol's.
Orbiting Stage
This stage should be similar to a second stage if you are going to Minmus. Keep the rocket at 3.75m parts. Attach fins to this stage just as a percautionary measure.
Launch Stage
This will be the biggest stage on your rocket (obviously). Use S3 KS-25x4 "Mammoth" Liquid Fuel Engines, as the center, and S3 KS-25 "Vector" Liquid Fuel Engines, LFB KR-1x2 "Twin-Boar" Liquid Fuel Engine, and S1 SRB-KD25ks on the sides, asparagus staging is recommended. Make sure to have fins on this stage, as this one should get you about 2/3 of the way to orbit
Launching to Moho
Orbiting Kerbin
This is a very routine launch, put you space craft in a rough 150 by 150 Km orbit. See Tutorials for orbiting help.
Kerbol Injection
This step is not very hard. Burn until your craft is in a Kerbol periapsis inbetween Moho and Eve. Once you hit periapsis, bring your apoapsis down until you orbit is about circular inbetween Moho and Eve.
Moho Injection
This is most likely the longest step. Wait until Moho is inbetween you and Kerbol, then burn Retrograde untill you get an incounter. Once you are near Moho periapsis, set up a Maneuver node and get in orbit aroung Moho, it does not have to be circular. Congratulations, you have just got in orbit around Moho!
Landing On Moho
This is the same as landing on the Mun. If you do not know, go to apoapsis, burn retrograde until you are on a suborbital trajectory. Try to land on the light side of Moho. Just in case, put some Illuminator Mk1 or Illuminator Mk2 on your lander. Get your happy little Kerbals out and say some inspiring words, and frolic about. If you are in CareerMode harvest all the science Moho can offer.
Returning To Kerbin
Burn Eastward until you are in a 100 by 100Km orbit. Then wait until Kerbin is about 75° degrees ahead of Moho. Then set up your Maneuver node, and find an encounter with Kerbin. Use your last remaining fuel to get in orbit around Kerbin, at least inside the orbit of the Mun, so if a rescue ship is needed it won't have to take long to build and has a better chance of getting an approach with it. If you have enough fuel, aim for your periapsis to be around 40,000 - 60,000 m to aerobrake in the atmosphere.
What To Do Next?
If you are stuck on what to do next, here are a few good ideas:
- Go down the Mohole on the north pole of Moho
- Bring a rover
- Fly a Spaceplane to Moho (This should not be attempted for new players, as Moho has very rough terrain which makes landing planes very difficult) (Even experienced players should not think this is easy)
- Go to Eeloo, the farthest planet out
