Science Mission Ideas

[WKFO]

Simple example:
"We need you to travel to Arcturus 4 f in Arcturus (- 12, 0, 22) system and collect 43t of surface samples and bring them back here. (Obviously, samples must be sth different from commodities sold at space stations)"

A little more specific one:
"We need you to land around 44E, 28W on Arcturus 4 f in Arcturus (- 12, 0, 22) system and collect 12t of surface samples and bring them back here. (Again, see above)"

Atmosphere scoop:
"We need you to scoop 5t of gas samples from Rigel c in Rigel (20, -11, 9) system and bring them back here. ( " " " )"

Asteroid sample (would require mining laser and cargo scoop):
"We need you to ̶b̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶*̶t̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ mine the asteroid/comet Gabe in Sirius (-1, 1, 1) system and bring back 3t of samples to us."

Another type that requires you to carry stuff around:
"We need you to carry 4 of our scientists and 1t of equipment to land around 44E, 28W on Arcturus 4 f in Arcturus (- 12, 0, 22) system and carry them back here once they're finished experimenting."

Harder missions (those would pay a lot more, and might require a fuel scoop for travelling to unexplored systems):
"We need you to travel to unexplored Mycobacteria (-191, 22, 15), Tuberculosis (-191, 23, 15) and Dendroaspis (-192, 22, 16) systems and relay your findings back to us. Don't forget to keep an eye on your fuel level."

Orbit body:
"Acheive a stable orbit around -------- lower than ---- kilometers and perform an analysis of some kind."

Deploy satellite:
"Take these satellites and jetisson them in a stable orbit over ---------."

Repair equipment:
"Take 1t of necessary equipment and 5 engineers, capture the satellite orbiting ---------, deploy it again once it is repaired."
"Take those guys and this toolbox, land near our science outpost/probe near -----------, allow them to repair the thing and bring back the toolbox here."

Celesial bodies and coordiantes are imaginary.

[bszlrd]

Would be cool to have these, for sure!
I suspect these could be separate modules. Like the satellite deployment one could be from a mining company who wants to survey locations, not just from a science lab. Or a communications company who wants to service a low-population world.

[impaktor]

Simple example

Isn't this how the cargo mission works?

Orbit body

Similar to the scout mission that's to be made into a PR any year now...

[WKFO]

Yes it is how the cargo mission works (space truck simulator). But it will lead you to places with no starports.