Thread by @devingunay

Flew Jebediah to the Mun, collected science, and then started ascending to rendezvous with the service module but then I realized I didn't give enough fuel to make it back to the module. I aborted ascent with enough fuel to land. Getting him (and his science) back was a doozy:

First, I built a vehicle carrying 3 communication relay sats and put them in KEO. I eyeballed the resonance so they're in an isosceles triangle. Whatever, it worked.

Did the same thing in polar orbit around the Mun (with an actual 1/3 resonant orbit precalculated this time).

Finally, I sent the same munar lander mission up but with an empty pod, 50% extra fuel, and a probe module controlling it. Landed it next to Jeb, he hopped on with the experiments, ascended to orbit, rendezvoused with the service module, and made it home safe.

I missed this amazing game. #kerbalspaceprogram

Forgot to mention - the whole thing with the satellites was necessary because:

1) The impromptu landing put Jeb on the dark side of the moon (which never rotates to face Kerbin)

2) Any probe landing on the dark side would lose contact with mission control and smash into the Mun