For the first time in the known history of Kerbal space exploration, a probe has landed on an atmospheric planet and sent back pictures of the surface.
After fifty days of travelling to the mysterious world, the second Horizon mission fired its engine and made the burn that would put it into orbit around the second planet. Twelve days later, the lander section of the vehicle detached and performed another burn that would send it within the atmosphere of Eve. The main orbiter probe will remain in orbit to not only relay the signals from the lander, but also continue on with additional scientific research from high above the world.
An artists depiction of the lander's entry through Eve's atmosphere
It was a nervous few minutes while the probe made it's descent onto the surface of the purple planet. The atmosphere turned out to be much more dense than Kerbin's, which made the parachute over-effective.
'It just took forever to reach the surface,' said one of the the Mission Specialists. 'At first, we thought there must have been some instrument malfunction. But it turns out that Eve's atmosphere is a lot more dense than we first thought. The lander had to practically swim to the surface. Measurements of the atmosphere showed us it is nearly four times as thick as it is here.'
The first image of another planets' surface sent back
from the lander
When touch-down was achieved, the probe began immediately sending back data. The atmosphere of Eve reaches as high as 100km, whereas Kerbin's disappears at just 70km. And the gravity of Eve is nearly twice as strong as it is on Kerbin. But the most puzzling thing is the temperature. After Horizon-One discovered what is thought to be liquid water on the surface of Eve, the Horizon-Two lander returned temperatures readings of 147C on the surface. This makes it impossible for water to exist as a liquid.
An artists impression of the lander on the surface of Eve
In trying to answer some of the questions thrown up from the first mission, it seems this mission has only raised more. The probe stopped working a short time after landing, even though it was designed to operate for many weeks. The Horizon-Two orbiter remains in an elliptical orbit around the planet, and has already returned some fascinating images of the world in great definition.
The first orbital glance at Eve's atmosphere and a enormous mountain
range on the horizon. However, the mystery of the liquid is yet to be solved
Eve from the orbiters peak altitude of two-million kilometers
The next mission to Eve is yet to be discussed while all the resources of the KSC are being pulled toward the upcoming Mun landings. However, we have the imminent arrival of the Endeavor mission to Duna to look forward to.
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