KERBALS ORBIT THE MUN!

KSP - Year 4, Day 222

For the first time in our known history, Kerbals have left the safety of Kerbin's orbit and headed out for the Mun. Armed with just their CSM, Aquarius VIII, Jeb, Bob and Bill headed to the Mun on top of their Selene launch vehicle. To date, it is the furthest anyone has ever traveled. Once there, a braking burn was initiated that put their craft into orbit. Twelve laps were completed before heading home again.

The mighty Selene rocket is finally allowed public viewing

Aquarius VIII launches for the Mun

'It was just a quick trip to the Mun and back,' said Jebediah, the Flight Commander. 'We were actually only in space for just over a day. But, man, have we seen some sights. We've had the images come back from the Celestia missions, but there really is nothing like going there and seeing the Mun for yourself.'

Kerbin falls away as Aquarius VIII coasts the long trek

The goal of the mission was the ultimate test of the Command and Service Modules as well as the astronauts. If the Munar Excursion Module failed to power up, they could abandon it and come home safely in the CSM. If, however, the CSM fails, the consequences could be fatal. The CSM would be their contained tiny world, and it needed to work.

The astronauts enjoy the ride to the Mun, ensuring all systems

function correctly throughout the mission

The CSM in this mission traveled alone - there was no MEM. Instead, the Selene launch vehicle had to be weighted to compensate. In addition, once the CSM had separated from the third-stage booster, it was once again remote controlled to steer away from the manned craft. The trajectory of the booster saw it crash into the surface of the Mun where seismic monitors fitted to instruments of still-functioning probes from the Celestia project detected the crash. These measurements would help determine the internal composition of our Mun.

One of the first views of the Mun from 30km - the huge canyon that 

leads out of Lacus Solitudinis on the far side of the Mun can be seen

The other goal of the mission was to visually scout for a landing site. Apparently, one has yet to be decided for definite, but mission planners are looking at one of the Great Lakes. Their is an argument as to whether these enormous dark patches on the face of the Mun are old lava beds or ancient large impacts but, either way, it is speculated that the material here would yield more interesting results during study.

The surface of the Mun as never seen before with Kerbal eyes

It was commented that finding a flat area to land may be

more difficult than first thought

Atlas Crater with Atlas Mountain (dead center of the image)

where the second Celestia rover is still operating

Lacus Recordationis, one of the Great Lakes that is rumored to 

be an option for the first landing site

But perhaps the gem of the mission was a shot taken by Bill as they circled around the Mun for the first time. We are all familiar seeing the Mun rise and fall over our horizons here on Kerbin. But during their orbit of the Mun, the astronauts saw the opposite - the rise and fall of Kerbin over the Mun's horizon.

A view of beauty that took the astronauts by surprise as Kerbin rises over the horizon of the Mun

The next mission, Aquarius IX, will be a hardware test of the MEM in LKO. Following that, a dress rehearsal of the actual Mun landing. Then, a manned Mun landing. With only two missions standing between a Kerbal putting footsteps on the Mun, the goal could be achieved before the year is even out.