Landing: Your First Kerbal On The Mun

It's time to set foot on the Mun, and this guide is coming with you!

Read This First

If you are here just to learn how to land, skip to the "One Small Step For Kerbal" section.

Building Your Lander

For the easiest build, follow the picture guide below
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It's Time For You To Be Creative

What fun would this game be if I told you how to do everything perfectly?
Below are 3 Guides I've written, these guides are crucial elements needed to be known in KSP. Read them, and use their knowledge to further your own.

Your Goal: Get your lander into the influence of the Mun's Gravity with a decent amount of fuel then return to this guide for landing instruction.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=139399825#
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=141141083#48329
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=142129627#49256

One Small Step For Kerbal

If you are at this section, you either are just here to learn for future use. Or, you are here because you have a lander within the Mun's gravity with a decent amount of fuel and are ready to begin your decent. Otherwise please scroll up to get more info on reaching this point.

Once you have made it to the Mun's influence, please make your orbit circular.
Aim yourself Retrograde and begin firing your engines.
What you are now doing is called a "suicide burn" and though it isn't the most efficient form of landing, it is by far the best if it is your first time.
Your orbit will slowly start becoming an arch.

Once your arch becomes a straight line, cut your engines. From here you will fall directly downwards, and all you need to do is keep it that way. To make sure your landing is nice and safe, periodically slow yourself down to about 150m/s as you fall. Take it slow and don't slow yourself down too much, or landing will take longer, and you will waste fuel.

IMPORTANT: The altitude meter will not say 0 at the surface. 0 indicates the lowest point on the surface of the Mun from it's core. Chances are, where you will be landing will be around 1200m

Keep yourself falling straight by firing your engines slightly to move the retrograde marker around. The retrograde marker will always move away from where you are aiming, when firing, so imagine your pushing a magnet around with another magnet (I hope I'm not the only one who has ever done that.)

At 3000m you need to make sure you arent above 400m/s, or you will probably crash, try to stay around 150m/s through this part of the decent.

At 2000m you need to slow down to between 40-70m/s. Maintain this speed until you can see your shadow, at this point fire your engines full blast until you are at 3-10m/s. Slowly let yourself fall, and when you go over 10m/s, fire your engines breifly to keep yourself around 7.

Continue downwards until you are practically on the surface, and cut your engines.

And Beyond...

For instruction on landing on other planets, you can check out Blacksmith's in-depth guide on every planet and moon in the Kerbal galaxy.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=142458502&tscn=1367896989

Now that you are on the Mun, you can pretend to be the first person to ever do this.

Thanks For Reading, Don't Forget To Rate, And Good Luck!

Check Out My Other Guides!
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=139399825
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=141141083
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=142129627

[Wookie5457]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[flopp]

is it really that easy?!? wow im such a nub.

[blodsub]

I realized. Helpful guide though

[TalenTaylor]

Even after tons (seriously a lot) of updates, this guide should still be relevant, what issues are you having?

[blodsub]

Can you update this?

[Reminism]

This really helped. Before this, I only Cras- Ahem , Landed , on the Mun once.

[Peanut Arbuckle]

This was really helpful. I'm still pretty new to KSP and haven't spent a lot of time looking at guides, but more just expirimenting. I've made it into the Muns orbit numberous times but every attempt to land fails miserably.
Thanks!

[Quickdraw6]

I believe a section that tells you how to get OFF of the Mun and back to Kerbin would be helpful, as many people have been caught in a lateral orbit instead of an equatorial one when leaving the mun, which can really screw up your plan to get the kerbal and his data back for career mode.

[Process]

actually because you are using the mk1 command pod you can use iva and check the radar alttitude as it shows altitude above the ground

[Ilune]

thanks for telling me