A roar of cheering erupted at the KSC today when Celestia VII became the first Kerbin craft to touch down on another world. The tiny lander, weighing in at only 75kg, indicated that it had made a soft landing by turning it's systems on and sending back the first ever image of the surface of the Mun.
'Another great achievement,' said Gene Kerman. 'Not only does this prove that landing vehicles on the Mun is possible, but we also have our first image of the Mun from the surface.'
First look at the surface of the Mun from the Celestia VII Lander
The probe only sank a few inches into the surface of the Mun. It was unsure how deep the powdered surface would be, and there was a calculated chance that the probe would disappear into the surface completely. The lander operated on batteries for imaging and some basic testing. Gravity was measured at 1.59m/s2 (compared to Kerbin's 9.81m/s2) and a rough surface temperature of -43C was recorded. Due to navigation equipment not being switched off after landing, the probes power supply only lasted just over an hour. However, all goals were achieved.
Artists painting of Celestia VII on the surface of the Mun
The descent was by far the most challenging yet. The probe was carried to the Mun still attached to the brand new S2-4B booster, which was used slow the craft down to be captured by the Mun's gravity before being jettisoned.
The decent module itself was made of two parts: the deceleration stage and landing stage. The first stage decelerates the vessel as it approaches the landing site so that the craft begins to fall to the surface. It also acts as a utility module and carries the solar panels that keep the batteries charged during the journey. Once out of fuel, the deceleration stage is jettisoned to reduce weight and the retro rockets are used for the rest of the descent. These slow the craft for a controlled approach to the surface. Once only a few meters from the ground, the descent stage drops the probe and veers off and impacts the surface clear of the lander.
A diagram showing the descent method
Celestia VII landed in the southern region of Mare Devotionis (Sea of Devotion)
Getting Celestia VII was not without it's challenges. Celestia IV, V and VI were attempted prior to the successful Celestia VII. All three previous probes, which were identical in construction to their successful sibling, failed catastrophically. KSC did not report on these missions until after the events.
'We knew there would be complications,' Gene Kerman stated in a press conference after Celestia VII's success. 'It was a tough mission with so much uncertainty, and we weren't even sure if we could even do it. We're not here to disappoint the public and release reports on failed missions. But this time, we knew we had it!'
Celestia IV ended in the worst disaster yet as the launch vehicle immediately pitched itself over after launch and crashed into Booster Bay. A faulty navigation unit was to blame after it was fitted upside down. At launch, the rocket thought it was standing on it's head and so immediately tried to correct itself.
Celestia V enjoyed more success and actually made it to the Mun. However, a miscalculation resulted in the descent stage being activated too late and the probe impacted into the surface at over 400m/s.
Celestia VI got about as far as Celestia V. But on this occasion, during the descent phase to the Mun, only one of the four descent engines activated. It is thought that a bug in the system itself was the cause after a single command should have initiated all engines to activate at once, but it did not. The single engine sent the probe into an uncontrollable spin and crashed into the surface of the Mun a few minutes later.
The cost of the project seems to rise every time, with accidents occurring more frequently. But in some humbling words from Jebediah Kerman, an expected astronaut in waiting, stated:
'If these machines need to blow up a thousand times in order to develop the technology and skill needed to bring the first astronaut home safe, then so be it.'
'We knew there would be complications,' Gene Kerman stated in a press conference after Celestia VII's success. 'It was a tough mission with so much uncertainty, and we weren't even sure if we could even do it. We're not here to disappoint the public and release reports on failed missions. But this time, we knew we had it!'
Celestia IV ended in the worst disaster yet as the launch vehicle immediately pitched itself over after launch and crashed into Booster Bay. A faulty navigation unit was to blame after it was fitted upside down. At launch, the rocket thought it was standing on it's head and so immediately tried to correct itself.
In a terrifying sight, Celestia IV pitches over at launch and screams for the ocean after it's navigational unit was fitted upside down. It was destroyed seconds later
The cost of the project seems to rise every time, with accidents occurring more frequently. But in some humbling words from Jebediah Kerman, an expected astronaut in waiting, stated:
'If these machines need to blow up a thousand times in order to develop the technology and skill needed to bring the first astronaut home safe, then so be it.'
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