Mun Tech: A Retrospective Look at Failed Ideas

Ah yes, one of my first rovers I've ever built. Arguably a rolling slab, this little guy didn't do much other than go forwards and backwards- and explode. One of the hardest aspects to roving on the Mun is simply the low gravity. I can only imagine how it must be on any of the inner planets or even Minmus. Regardless, roving on the Mun brings about its own set of challenges, such as gravity and gaining way too much momentum. There's a few solutions I've found, such as stabilizing your craft using Monopropellant or using the docking system rather than the rocket system to drive your rover. But really the Devs just need a dedicated roving system.

 This is one of those ideas that honestly pisses me off that it doesn't work as well as you'd like. Land based, Mun landing lights. I'm not looking for the impossible, just some high intensity lighting that will glow from a couple kilometers off. Okay, maybe that's asking a bit much.

 To be fair, this is still among the best Mun Rover I've ever made. The center of gravity was low, the craft was wide and flat- it was nearly perfect. Nearly. The biggest fault in this design came in the shape of the science probes you'll see jutting from the center mass of the rover. They were intended to decouple from the center of the craft, tossing itself into the field even as the rover moved. The problem was, they'd often get caught under the wheels as the Rover whizzed over the Mun surface at 70 meters per second. Which resulted in big explosions and nasty results.

But this craft will always have a special place in my heart, even if it can't be produced anymore. As with many of the updates, things change and in this case- building wheels on top of other wheels isn't possible anymore. Which is sad news, as the multiple wheels are what made this rover work so well on the Mun.