Resource Scanner for Kerbin's Moons
Sep. 26th, 2018 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_sky_callsIn a previous blog posting, I detailed all the considerations that going into designing a resource scanner using the M700 Survey Scanner. Adding a Communotron DTS-M1 on the side unbalanced the craft and to ensure that the Center of Thrust lined up with the Center of Mass, thus making sure the craft didn't tumble when under power, I shifted the Probodobodyne HECS to one side using the Offset Tool.
The Z-1k Rechargeable Battery Bank weighs the same as the DTS-M1 antenna so for this probe, destined for Minmus and the Mun, I decided to use a Cubic Octagonal Strut to attach the battery opposite the antenna, making the satellite quickly and easily balanced.
Mission Designation : SS-11 and SS-12
Rocket Model : SurveySat A-III
Mission Objectives : Resource scan of Minmus and Mun
Total Mass (Mass to Orbit) : 22.3 tons (1.9 ton)
Total delta-V (dV to Orbit) : 5,809 m/s (1,913 m/s)
Surface TWR : 1.48
Contract for Construction : Year 3, Day 318
Nominal Build Time : 14 Days
Total Cost : 15,803 funds
Launch Date/Time SS-11 : Year 3, Day 340 @ 01:55
Launch Date/Time SS-12 : Year 3, Day 350 @ 05:49
I like the asymmetrical appearance.
Once in orbit, you run the orbital survey and it produces a map of the resources. You can change the colors and the percentage of resources found.
But then it changes.
It's the nature of SCANsat and other mods that employ the Community Resource Pack to overwrite the resources from stock with their own resource map. But also, in addition to ore they add things like water, silicates, alumina, uranium, and others. Different mods use the resources for the obvious things. In my game, I am using the simple life support mod called Snacks! When kerbals eat, they “produce” what is euphemistically called soil which, if you have enough electricity and a PPD-10 Hitchhiker Storage Container, can be turned back into snacks. I noticed soil in one of the resource lists so I could theoretically mine soil to turn into snacks.
Ore can also be turned into snacks (with a Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2), but ore is most commonly processed with a Convert-O-Tron into fuel.
So back to the map. As I said, the stock map has been overwritten so when you look at the overlay right after the scan it will look differently once SCANsat processes it. These resource maps are also procedurally produced so that the next time you play the game, resources will be found in different locations.
First, let's look at the map of the Mun.
Some amount of resources are to be found all over the Mun but for this I have set the display to show the highest percent of concentration, from 7 to 8%. You can find resources at a 7% concentration throughout much of the Lowland biomes but if you want concentrations approaching 8% you will need to be in the Polar Crater or Farside Crater. That suggests that a mining base on the Mun would be located in the southern end of the Farside Crater to not only get the greatest concentrations of ore but to be in the best position to move that up to an equatorial orbit.
The Minmus map shows concentrations of about 9.25% at the poles but upwards of 10.25% can be found on the Lesser Flats and the Flats just west of that. Again, the southern end of the Lesser Flats are going to be the best place for a mining station.
And. . . . it's flat.
The Z-1k Rechargeable Battery Bank weighs the same as the DTS-M1 antenna so for this probe, destined for Minmus and the Mun, I decided to use a Cubic Octagonal Strut to attach the battery opposite the antenna, making the satellite quickly and easily balanced.
Mission Designation : SS-11 and SS-12
Rocket Model : SurveySat A-III
Mission Objectives : Resource scan of Minmus and Mun
Total Mass (Mass to Orbit) : 22.3 tons (1.9 ton)
Total delta-V (dV to Orbit) : 5,809 m/s (1,913 m/s)
Surface TWR : 1.48
Contract for Construction : Year 3, Day 318
Nominal Build Time : 14 Days
Total Cost : 15,803 funds
Launch Date/Time SS-11 : Year 3, Day 340 @ 01:55
Launch Date/Time SS-12 : Year 3, Day 350 @ 05:49
I like the asymmetrical appearance.
Once in orbit, you run the orbital survey and it produces a map of the resources. You can change the colors and the percentage of resources found.
But then it changes.
It's the nature of SCANsat and other mods that employ the Community Resource Pack to overwrite the resources from stock with their own resource map. But also, in addition to ore they add things like water, silicates, alumina, uranium, and others. Different mods use the resources for the obvious things. In my game, I am using the simple life support mod called Snacks! When kerbals eat, they “produce” what is euphemistically called soil which, if you have enough electricity and a PPD-10 Hitchhiker Storage Container, can be turned back into snacks. I noticed soil in one of the resource lists so I could theoretically mine soil to turn into snacks.
Ore can also be turned into snacks (with a Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2), but ore is most commonly processed with a Convert-O-Tron into fuel.
So back to the map. As I said, the stock map has been overwritten so when you look at the overlay right after the scan it will look differently once SCANsat processes it. These resource maps are also procedurally produced so that the next time you play the game, resources will be found in different locations.
First, let's look at the map of the Mun.
Some amount of resources are to be found all over the Mun but for this I have set the display to show the highest percent of concentration, from 7 to 8%. You can find resources at a 7% concentration throughout much of the Lowland biomes but if you want concentrations approaching 8% you will need to be in the Polar Crater or Farside Crater. That suggests that a mining base on the Mun would be located in the southern end of the Farside Crater to not only get the greatest concentrations of ore but to be in the best position to move that up to an equatorial orbit.
The Minmus map shows concentrations of about 9.25% at the poles but upwards of 10.25% can be found on the Lesser Flats and the Flats just west of that. Again, the southern end of the Lesser Flats are going to be the best place for a mining station.
And. . . . it's flat.
