If you want to land a ship in the Mun system, there are a few things you should know. First, make sure that your apoapsis intersects the orbit of the Mun. Second, perform a forward burn, so that you can increase the width of your path on the Mun’s orbit. Finally, do not circularize your trajectory, which will decrease your chances of hitting the Mun.
Burn upwards from launch
To get to the Mun, you must burn upwards from launch. Once in the correct orbit, you can begin to use the fuel in the middle stage to land. To start your burn, you should be in the same phase of the day as the sunrise. Once you have reached the right speed, you should start to decouple your engine from the last stage.
After completing the planetary alignment, you should create a maneuver node 45 degrees BEHIND the Mun. From here, you will need to pull out your prograde vector until the dotted yellow line crosses the Mun orbit. Next, you need to play with the prograde and retrograde vectors. When you have done this, activate the throttle and start warping to the periapsis.
Burn prograde
When you want to get to the Mun and then return to Kerbin, you can burn prograde. This is a strategy that requires lowering landing gear, killing horizontal velocity, and descending toward the surface at six m/s. Once you have reached the surface, you should turn your thrusters to a high burn rate to get into a 200 km orbit around the Mun. If you are near the far side of the Mun, this strategy is ideal.
You can use the maneuver node tool to estimate your burn time before starting. But if you don’t have one, try to burn prograde before apoapsis. Then, make sure to keep burning until the periapsis rises. The amount of time required depends on the type of rocket you are using.
The next step is to create maneuver nodes 45 degrees BEHIND the Mun. Once you’ve done that, activate the throttle and pull out the prograde vector until the dotted yellow line crosses the path of Mun’s orbit. Once you’re at apoapsis, tilt your ship around so that you’re facing the navball. You can then burn until you reach stable orbit.
The Mun orbit is about seventy to 150 kilometers in diameter, and requires the same periapsis and apoapsis. The longer the orbit, the more fuel you’ll use. Once you’ve reached the Mun’s orbit, you’ll need to burn prograde to widen the apoapsis and then pass through the time warp.
Burn in opposite direction to movement of Mun around Kerbin
If you want to get back to Kerbin quickly, you must burn in the opposite direction to the movement of Mun around Kerbin. The Mun’s orbit is approximately 70 to 150 kilometers, which means that you must spend a significant amount of fuel. A typical way to do this is by performing a forward burn until you reach a position where you can pass the Mun’s periapsis.
If you are crossing the orbit of Mun from behind, you will be able to burn fuel at a much higher velocity. This will increase your craft’s velocity and lower your cost of reaching Minmus. But if you are traveling to the planets beyond Minmus, you should place refueling stations in lower orbits or prepare to use fancy Kerbin escapes.
The easiest way to get back to Kerbin is to burn in the opposite direction to the movement of Mun around Kerbin. If you are orbiting Mun in the opposite direction to your position on the planet, you will be able to burn prograde in order to reach Kerbin.
The best way to do this maneuver is to use a spacecraft in a stable orbit and set the target to Mun. Once you have set your target, you can now add the maneuver to your upper orbit. Make sure to intersect the lower orbit before you begin your maneuver. The orange arrows on the maneuver will show you how much energy you need to burn in the opposite direction to the movement of Mun around Kerbin.
Once you have the proper trajectory and the proper thrust, you can now start the burn in the opposite direction to the movement of Mun around Kerbin. You should make sure that the predicted landing place is on the bright side of Mun. If you get in the dark, it will be a lot harder to land.
Terrain scattering
The Mun is a relatively large moon in Kerbin’s orbit. Its orbit is perfectly circular and has zero orbital inclination. This is an unusually flat orbit, and it would require precise placement of bodies during the formation of the planetary system. However, this feature of Mun’s orbit was likely chosen to make the Mun easier to reach for newcomers.
There is no atmosphere on Mun, so parachutes do not work there. While the surface of the moon looks like a desert, the Mun is home to a number of anomalous geological formations. Using these formations to your advantage will help you navigate the moon’s terrain and earn more science points.
