Tutorial:How to get to Minmus (2024)

This tutorial will attempt to teach you how to get to Minmus. It assumes that you have successfully completed a trip to The Mun, if you haven't I suggest you check out the tutorial.

Click here for a more up-to-date version of the Mun tutorial.

Contents

  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Constructing a Minmus Rocket
    • 2.1 The Upper Stage (Lander)
    • 2.2 The Middle Stage (Transfer Burn)
    • 2.3 The Lower Stage (Launch)
  • 3 Launching Into Kerbin's Orbit
  • 4 Minmus Injection
  • 5 Landing on Minmus
  • 6 Returning to Kerbin
    • 6.1 Basic method
    • 6.2 Advanced method
  • 7 See also

Introduction

Landing on Minmus is similar to landing on the Mun, with a few minor exceptions:

  1. Minmus is further from Kerbin than the Mun, which means:
    • More fuel is required from the trip between Kerbin's orbit and Minmus.
    • It has a slower orbit, making intercept velocities lower.
  2. Minmus is significantly smaller than The Mun, which means:
    • Landing on, and achieving orbit from Minmus is significantly easier due to lower gravity, requiring much less fuel.
    • Its Sphere of Influence (SOI) is smaller, which (plus the distance) requires more precision.
    • Its gravity is low enough that Reaction Control System alone is enough to correct a smaller spacecraft if it has been tipped over.
  3. Minmus has an inclined orbit, which means:
    • Direct injection has a higher failure rate.
    • Matching orbits requires a little extra knowledge about adjusting orbital inclination (and fuel).
  4. Minmus is not tidally locked to Kerbin which means.
    • More precision is needed when using direct injection when trying to land on a selected location.

Constructing a Minmus Rocket

The Upper Stage (Lander)

This stage should be much lighter than the one you would use to reach The Mun. Landing on Minmus and returning to Kerbin only requires about as much fuel put together as the landing phase of a Mun visit.

The Middle Stage (Transfer Burn)

Take advantage of the weight you have saved on your lander to pack more fuel for this one. You will need it for the trip between Kerbin and Minmus.

The Lower Stage (Launch)

This stage should not be much different than the one you would use on a Mun attempt. If you are not feeling confident about your middle stage, it never hurts to pack a little more fuel/thrust, adding boosters is never bad, you can use fuel ducts to get more Delta V.

Launching Into Kerbin's Orbit

Same as any standard launch, presumably on a much larger scale. Read the tutorial for how to reach orbit if you haven't already figured it out.

Minmus Injection

While it may not be absolutely necessary, matching your orbital inclination with Minmus makes it much easier to get caught in its SOI. Set Minmus as your target and burn perpendicular to your orbital plane at one of the nodes until they read '0.0' or 'NaN'.

Similar to the Mun guide, wait until Minmus is about 4-5 degrees over the horizon (20-40 degrees in the map) to begin your burn. It will appear as a small dot above the horizon. Burn until your apoapsis intersects Minmus' orbit, and (hopefully) you will be caught. Alternatively, you could also burn until your apoapsis intersects Minmus's orbit without changing your inclination. You probably won't see an encounter, so to fix your inclination for much cheaper, halfway to the apoapsis burn antinormal to drag it down until you see an encounter. This takes less thrust and is more efficient.

Landing on Minmus

Your orbit, retrograde burn, and landing will all be at much lower speeds than they would be at either the Mun or Kerbin. In fact, it's unlikely that you will (or should) reach speeds above 100m/s at any point near Minmus, also move your retrograde vector pointing close to directly down. Try aiming for a frozen lake if you are looking for an easier landing, close to chart datum. Minmus' large mountain ranges make for more of a challenge elsewhere on the surface. And no, it's not a big ice cream!

Returning to Kerbin

Basic method

This is a crude but effective method, using slightly more fuel than the advanced method below.Begin a light burn until you escape Minmus' SOI, then apply retrograde thrust until your periapsis is below 65km altitude on Kerbin. Happy Landings!

Advanced method

This method is cheaper on fuel.

  • Burn to raise the apoapsis to around 10,000m.
  • Burn prograde at apoapsis to achieve a low equatorial orbit.
  • When the craft is moving retrograde relative to Minmus's orbit around Kerbin, face prograde and burn again to escape velocity.
  • Keep burning until your periapsis around Kerbin is below 32,000m.
  • You will now be on a trajectory towards Kerbin. You will not need to burn again to re-enter the planet's atmosphere.

See also

  • Mun For Dummies: Travelling to the Mun and Back by nicnacnic (For Version 1.0 to 1.2)
  • Mun Landing
  • How to get to Eve
  • Tutorials
Tutorial:How to get to Minmus (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take Minmus to orbit Kerbin? ›

Info
Orbital Characteristics
Semi-Major Axis47 000 000 m (1)
Siderial orbital period49 d 5 h 15 m 10.5 s (Kerbin time) 12 d 11 h 15 m 10.5 s (Earth time)
Synodic orbital period1 220 132 s
56 d 2 h 55 m 31.6 s (Kerbin time) 14 d 2 h 55 m 31.6 s (Earth time)
25 more rows

How to navigate to mun ksp? ›

If you want to reach the Mun on the first swing around, wait until Mun rises just above the horizon. A good rule of thumb is for each 100 km you are above Kerbin, wait another 2 seconds. Once it does, begin a forward burn, and keep an eye on your map, as the apoapsis moves out towards Munar orbit.

How much Delta V to get to Minmus? ›

Minmus orbits Kerbin at a continuous altitude of 46,400,000 meters and takes approximately 920 m/s Δv to transfer to from low Kerbin orbit.

How to maneuver to Minmus? ›

Similar to the Mun guide, wait until Minmus is about 4-5 degrees over the horizon (20-40 degrees in the map) to begin your burn. It will appear as a small dot above the horizon. Burn until your apoapsis intersects Minmus' orbit, and (hopefully) you will be caught.

What is the hardest planet to return from in KSP? ›

Tylo. Tylo is one of the worst places to land and return from. It's in the outer solar system, far away from home, and you need to bring a ton of fuel to even land, let alone get your ass back home. Tylo is about the same size/mass as Kerbin but there is no atmosphere.

What is the easiest planet to orbit in KSP? ›

Duna orbits Kerbol with an inclination nearly identical to that of Kerbin, making it one of the easiest planets to encounter.

Is Minmus tidally locked? ›

The fact that it is not tidally locked to Kerbin like Mun means there's always something new to see when you look at it. Even if its landscape never changes its inclined orbit means the patterns of light and shadow, highlands and low, does change often.

How much Delta-V do you need to get to the Mun and back? ›

Specifications. Recommended Delta-V: ~ 6,500 for Orbit and Return. ~ 7,500 for Landing and Return.

How much delta-V to orbit Kerbin? ›

Reaching a stable orbit around Kerbin is one of the first milestones the player achieves in the game. Achieving such an orbit with a fuel-optimal ascent requires a delta-V of roughly 3000 m/s, the second largest of all celestial bodies with a solid surface after Eve.

What is minmus in real life? ›

Minmus is based off of the real life comet Halley.

How do you match Minmus orbit? ›

simple steps:
  1. Target Minmus.
  2. Incline your orbit to match minmus'.
  3. Pick some point and put a node there. Put its apoapsis somewhere near Minmus' orbit.
  4. Drag it around your orbit until you find an interception. Adjust apoapsis as necessary.

How many biomes are there in Minmus? ›

The moon of Kerbin, called Minmus, has a total of 9 biomes.

What is the launch angle for Minmus? ›

As you launch, if you are launching to Minmus' ascending trajectory, you will aim just below the 90 degree mark on the navball (Heading 84 degrees). If you are launching to Minmus' descending trajectory, you will aim just above the 90 degree mark on the navball (Heading 96 degrees).

Does Minmus have an atmosphere? ›

does mimus have an atmosphere? Nope. No and it also has lower gravity than Mun so you don't need as many fuel. FYI Only planets have atmospheres, moons never have atmosphere, except for 1 moon (Laythe).

What is a hohmann transfer ksp? ›

The Hohmann transfer is the most frequently used method of changing orbital altitudes while keeping the same inclination. The ending orbit may be around the same celestial body as it began or for traveling to another body, such as between Kerbin and the Mun.

How fast to orbit Kerbin? ›

Info
Orbital Characteristics
Semi-Major Axis13 599 840 256 m (1)
Siderial orbital period426 d 0 h 32 m 24.6 s (Kerbin time) 106 d 12 h 32 m 24.6 s (Earth time)
Synodic orbital periodNot defined
Orbital Velocity9284.5 m/s
32 more rows

What is the lowest orbit Kerbin? ›

Low Kerbin orbit (LKO)

The lowest point of an LKO must not be lower than 70 km in order to stay clear of atmospheric drag. The altitude of a LKO typically does not exceed about 200 km.

How do you get into orbit around Kerbin KSP? ›

Steps to Orbit and Back
  1. Launch Preparation. Set thrust to maximum by hitting Z. ...
  2. Accelerate to 100 m/s. Launch by hitting the space bar and keep the rocket pointed straight up until the vehicle's speed is 100 m/s. ...
  3. Pitch 10 degrees East. ...
  4. Stage. ...
  5. Get apoapsis above 70 km. ...
  6. Get periapsis above 70 km. ...
  7. De-orbiting. ...
  8. Re-entry.
May 8, 2023

How much delta-v to get from duna orbit to kerbin? ›

With proper aerobraking, a round trip from Kerbin to Duna's orbit and back requires roughly 1700 m/s of delta-v, less than a round trip to any other planet.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Tish Haag

Last Updated:

Views: 5915

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (47 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tish Haag

Birthday: 1999-11-18

Address: 30256 Tara Expressway, Kutchburgh, VT 92892-0078

Phone: +4215847628708

Job: Internal Consulting Engineer

Hobby: Roller skating, Roller skating, Kayaking, Flying, Graffiti, Ghost hunting, scrapbook

Introduction: My name is Tish Haag, I am a excited, delightful, curious, beautiful, agreeable, enchanting, fancy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.