Departure from Kerbin + Arrival at Duna - IPV Dionys
TW: more larping
Crew and cargo arrive at IPV Dionys, completing its final preparations before departure. It performs its transfer burn, arriving at Duna in around a month's time. After orbital insertion, the Ike probe is deployed and the lander's first few biome hops are performed on Duna.
IPV Dionys's lander, Eros, is fitted with 2 small nuclear reactors to power its ISRU system, along with a complete suite of science instruments. Most experiments are stored in the science bay right behind the cockpit. Their primary bays are only opened while landed, while small secondary bays can open during flight for atmospheric sampling. Cargo equipment and ground-based experiments are mounted at the bottom of the structural trunk, below the main fuel tank.
The structural trunk is packed with utility. It contains a the two nuclear reactors, a 1.5m ISRU unit, four small ore drills, ore containers, draining valves, and an aerospike engine. With its drilling capabilities, Eros can land at high-ore regions to refuel between biome hops.
The aerospike engine gives the lander a wet mass TWR of 3.4 on Duna. It is used briefly alongside cockpit-mounted drogue and main chutes to slow down over the final few meters of landings. The lander has enough fuel to reach orbit from Duna, and its RCS capabilities enable it to dock with the IPV for crew rotations and cargo refills.
The reactors, drills, and ISRU unit all have distinct optimal operational temperatures, and each is given its own cooling loop. The four radiator fins cool the two reactors, requiring 100% uptime. Those static fins are rated for high dynamic pressure, allowing the reactors to stay operational during atmospheric flight.
While refueling, Eros will deploy its drills and activate the other two radiator loops. The giant hinged radiators deploy outwards to cool the four drills, while the fuselage-mounted radiators hiding underneath cool the ISRU unit.