CELESTIA XIII - THE MUN ROVER

KSP - Year 2, Day 310

The engineers at KSC have put our first roving vehicle on the surface of the Mun. Weighing just shy of 400kg, Celestia XIII is a mobile probe that can remotely operate on the surface of our nearest neighbour. The vehicle is currently exploring Bolt Crater, which is a large impact crater that lies on the north-east edge of the Lake of Remembrance. It had long been speculated that this region of the Mun would be the first to be explored by Kerbals, and as this is the third vehicle to touch down in this area it remains a good bet.

A working replica of the Mun Rover being tested on Kerbin

The rover is fitted with batteries and solar panels that will ensure a good operating life. It will continue to explore the surface to give a first-hand impression of the terrain Kerbal's will likely encounter. The images from previous lander's have come from a static point-of-view, which gives the staff at the KSC a hard time to determine that exact surface conditions. The rover's ability to move across the surface will provide faultless evidence of the terrains true nature, revealing valley's, cliffs and dips that previous probes would not be able to reveal.

'If a rover with wheels can explore the surface of the Mun, then a Kerbal can walk around on the Mun. If there's hidden caverns or cliffs that could prove hazardous to Kerbal's, then we need to know about them. The rovers will operate for many months to help reveal such potential dangers.'

This was the statement made by one of the Celestia project leaders at a press conference following the launch. The impression given was that the Celestia project is now coming to a close, although at least one more rover will be sent to the Mun to explore.

Celestia XIII descended to the surface using a vehicle akin to Celestia VII's method, in that it was suspended beneath a descent module and dropped when a couple of meters from the surface. The descent vehicle then purposefully crashed into the surface 17.5km away from the rover.

Several images have been returned, the first of which was confirmation that the rover had successfully landed.

The first image returned from the rover shows the center wheel is firmly placed on the surface of the Mun

An image of the barren landscape that makes up the bowl of Bolt Crater. The distant rocks in this image give a good idea of the shape of the terrain ahead

One of the rovers first tasks was to investigate one of the huge boulders that litter the surface of the giant crater

In addition to the excitement of the first Mun Rover, a camera system was attached to one of the boosters of the Union A-2A launch vehicle as Celestia XIII left our planet. This revealed spectacular first-hand images of the launch right up to the booster separation, which usually occurs around one-and-a-half minutes after launch. The footage was recovered when the B-8A booster was retrieved from the ocean.

 Seconds after lift-off from the launch-pad

 Gaining altitude and speed

 Booster separation, which occurs at an altitude of around 12-15km where the sky is now dark. This spectacular shot shows the first-stage continuing to propel the Mun Rover into orbit around Kerbin. The other booster can also be seen in the top-left of the image

Probably the best shot of our thin and fragile atmosphere yet as the booster tumbles back toward the ocean on its parachute

Being the thirteenth mission to the Mun, the Celestia team were apparently hesitant of this particular operation, an anonymous staff member stated. They are surprised the mission went off without a hitch, but there is still plenty of time for things to go wrong according to the source. All being well, the Mun Rover will continue to pave the way for the pioneering Kerbals that will set foot on the Mun. The second rover is apparently due to launch in the next few days, just before the Horizon probe skims past Eve.