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Science Lab
Science Labs can do many things, most of them require two Kerbals to do.
- Create Antimatter
- Centrifuge Deuterium
- Research Science
- Reprocess Nuclear Fuel
- Command Module for the IR Telescope's Direct Planetary Observation Mission
- Extra room for toothbrushes and snacks.
Many of the activities that the Science Lab can have power requirements. Power may be generated locally or be transmitted from a distance using a microwave power network. This can reduce craft weight and size, but at the expense of potential power network losses through attenuation over great distances.
- Power Consumption: 5000 MW
This Creates Antimatter at a very slow rate at a cost of up to 5000MW (5GW). You do not need to provide the 5000MW (5GW) for this to run, but it will run faster the more power you provide. Production is 1% efficient in turning energy into mass but since antimatter must be generated as particle/anti-particle pairs, the overall production of antimatter is only 0.5% efficient.
When fully powered, the lab will generate 2.78x10^(-4) mg antimatter/second or 24mg/day.
The science lab does not need to be the focused vessel to generate antimatter. So long as it has power available you may pilot other vessels and antimatter will continue to generate "in the background."
- Power Consumption: 43.5 MW
Requires a science lab to be splashed down in ocean, at which point an "Activate Centrifuge" option will appear on the science lab. This option requires 43.5MW of power and will produce 0.5Kg (also 0.5 units) of Deuterium per hour.
- Power Consumption: 5 MW
A Lab's first and primary use is to create Science based on three things: which planet they are near, how smart the Kerbal is (low Stupidity trait) and what their altitude is. Generally the closer it is to the surface, the more science the lab will collect. There is a minimum height as well. (i.e. you don't get more science per day at 100km versus 200km at Moho). Penalties are applied if the science module does not have a full crew or power.
The science lab does not need to be the focused vessel to generate science. So long as it has power available you may pilot other vessels and science will continue to generate "in the background." In order to gain this science you must switch to the craft in order to receive it. It is transferred automatically upon loading the craft.
Note: this function will only work in career mode.
The planetary bonuses are balanced with the difficulty.
| Planet Body | Base Multiplier | Landed |
|---|---|---|
| Kerbin | 1 | 2 |
| Mun, Minmus | 2.5 | 5 |
| Duna, Ike, Gilly | 5 | 10 |
| Eve | 5 | 12.5 |
| Dres | 7.5 | 2 |
| Jool, Pol, Bop | 10 | 20 |
| Tylo | 10 | 30 |
| Laythe, Vall | 12 | 24 |
| Kerbol (Sun) | 15 | 30 |
| Eloo, Moho | 20 | 40 |
Landing a lab on Jool or Kerbol is not recommended and will void the Science Lab's warranty.
There is a global 0.1 multiplier. 2 genius kerbals will net 50% more science. 2 kerbals with maximum stupidity will reduce the science by 50%.
Putting all this together, you get the following values (varying based on kerbal stupidity):
| Planet Body | Optimal Height | Surface |
|---|---|---|
| Kerbin | 0.05 to 0.15 | 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Mun, Minmus | 0.125 to 0.375 | 0.25 to 0.75 |
| Eloo, Moho | 1 to 3 | 2 to 6 |
- Power Consumption: 5 MW
You can use a Science Lab to turn your Actinide Waste back into Nuclear Fuel. 80% of the Actinide Waste becomes new fuel, either UF4 or ThF4, and the remaining 20% becomes Depleted Fuels. You must have somewhere to store the Depleted Fuels in order to conduct fuel reprocessing.
Stops whatever the science lab is currently doing so you can select a different option.