Tylo - Kerbal Space Program Wiki (2024)

Tylo

Tylo as seen from orbit.
Moon of Jool
Orbital Characteristics
Semi-major axis 68 500 000m [Note 1]
Apoapsis 68 500 000m [Note 1]
Periapsis 68 500 000m [Note 1]
Orbital eccentricity 0
Orbital inclination 0.025°
Argument of periapsis
Longitude of the ascending node
Mean anomaly 3.14rad (at 0s UT)
Sidereal orbital period 211 926s
9d 4h 52m 6.4s
Synodic orbital period 212 356.4s
Orbital velocity 2 031m/s
Longest time eclipsed 5 917s
Physical Characteristics
Equatorial radius 600 000m
Equatorial circumference 3 769 911m
Surface area 4.5238934×1012m2
Mass 4.2332127×1022kg
Standard gravitational parameter 2.8252800×1012m3/s2
Density 46 787.273kg/m3
Surface gravity 7.85m/s2 (0.8g)
Escape velocity 3 068.81m/s
Sidereal rotation period 211 926.36s
9d 4h 52m 6.4s
Sidereal rotational velocity 17.789m/s
Synchronous orbit 14 157.88km
Sphere of influence 10 856 518m [Note 1]
Atmospheric Characteristics
Atmosphere present No
Scientific multiplier
Surface 12
Splashed N/A
Near space 10
Outer space 8
Recovery 8
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The distances are given from the body's center, not from the surface (unlike ingame)

Tylo is the largest moon of Jool and the Kerbol System, and the largest celestial body without an atmosphere. It is the analog for Ganymede. It is the third moon from Jool, is the same diameter as Kerbin, and is tidally locked. Tylo orbits Jool in roughly nine days. Synchronous orbits around Tylo are impossible, as they would lie far outside of its SOI at a radius of 14,758,067 meters.

Tylo is a relatively difficult target to visit. Its gravity is similar to Kerbin's, but without an atmosphere, there is no way to aerobrake, and a large amount of fuel must be used to land and take off. However, due to its large gravity well, Tylo is ideal for a gravity assist to enter or leave the Jool system with minimal fuel consumption.

According to former developer NovaSilisko, Tylo was planned to be made into a high-contrasting body like Saturn's moon Iapetus.[1]

Contents

  • 1 In-game Description
  • 2 Topography
  • 3 Biomes
    • 3.1 Biome list
  • 4 Science
  • 5 Reference Frames
  • 6 KSP 2
    • 6.1 Surface Research Locations
    • 6.2 Maps
      • 6.2.1 Biomes
      • 6.2.2 Visual map
  • 7 Trivia
  • 8 Gallery
  • 9 Notes
  • 10 Changes

In-game Description

KSP 1:

Tylo was the first moon of Jool to be discovered by the Kerbal Astronomical Society. After many failed attempts to take a flawless picture of Jool to hang on the office walls, it was finally discovered that the wandering white smear was indeed a moon.
Scientists speculate that the view from the surface with Laythe, Vall and Jool overhead must be “quite something”.''

Kerbal Astronomical Society

KSP 2:

If you ever want to visit Jool, you'll need to know about Tylo, its third moon! It's about as large as Kerbin with less mass and relatively strong gravity. This makes it ideal for gravity assists into and out of Jool's sphere of influence! Tylo has no atmosphere, so attempting to land on it takes a good chunk of fuel. Oh, and I could have sworn it used to be more gray?

Topography

Tylo has a rocky surface. It has a varying elevation between 0 meters (Tylo baseline height) and peaks of more than 11290 meters. Tylo's surface looks similar to that of Mün, but has much fewer impact craters (especially on the side facing away from Jool) and is more uneven.

Due to the coloring of the surface of Tylo, it is likely that it is covered in a rhyolite layer of rock, nickel, a little cobalt, and some sort of ice and dust spread by meteorite impacts but as there is no official way to determine the composition of the moon this is only hypothetical. This explains why Tylo has a rather bright and white surface.

Because it is very large in comparison to other moons, it is unlikely that it is a captured planet. For a planet of this size, Jool would have to be much larger and denser to produce a large and strong enough gravitational well. It is unknown why Tylo hasn't formed an atmosphere.

Because of its high gravity and lack of an atmosphere, Tylo is very hard to land on and reach orbit from. However, low altitude orbits at high speeds can be achieved for these same reasons.

Biomes

Tylo has 9 Biomes. It mostly consists of generic Low-, Mid- and Highlands with some Mara and Minor Craters scattered in between. There are four distinct Craters. Previously three of these Craters were simply named Major Crater, the reason for this oddity not being known.

Biome list

Tylo In-game biome map as of 1.2

  • Highlands
  • Midlands
  • Lowlands
  • Mara
  • Minor Craters
  • Gagarin Crater
  • Grissom Crater
  • Galileio Crater
  • Tycho Crater

Science

Tylo has the second-highest science multipliers in the game. The only orbit with a higher multiplier is the sun and the only surface with a better multiplier is that of Eve. Unfortunately Tylo has no atmosphere, which means that there is one less zone to conduct experiments in and that some experiments do not work at all. That means that it is only the second most science-rich Joolian moon after Laythe.

Reference Frames

Time warp Minimum Altitude
Any
5× 30 000 m
10× 30 000 m
50× 60 000 m
100× 120 000 m
1 000× 240 000 m
10 000× 480 000 m
100 000× 600 000 m

KSP 2

Surface Research Locations

Surface research locations include:

  • Craters
  • Dimple
  • Highlands
  • Lowlands

Maps

Biomes

Tylo biome map with legend (as of v0.2.1.0 (from Orbital Survay mod))

Visual map

File:Tylo visual.png

Tylo visual map (as of v0.2.1.0)

Tylo visual map (Imgur)

Trivia

  • Kerbin has the same equatorial radius as Tylo (600,000m) yet Tylo's surface gravity is much lower than Kerbin. This is most likely because Tylo is composed of lower density matter.
  • Tylo is one of the few bodies in the solar system with almost totally manually-created colors (i.e., it uses a color map instead of procedural coloration). It only has a tenuous coat of a height-based darkening, and some simple noise. The only other manually-colored objects in the game are the Mun and Jool.
  • The Gagarin crater on Tylo was most likely named after Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.
  • The Grissom crater on Tylo was most likely named after Virgil "Gus" Grissom, the second American in space.
  • The Galileo crater on Tylo was most likely named after Galileo Galilei who is widely considered to be the inventor of the telescope.
  • The Tycho crater on Tylo was most likely named after Tycho Brahe who helped overturn a belief in favor of the heliocentric theory.
  • Using systematic designation Tylo would be designated Jool I.
  • There are two known Easter eggs on Tylo.

Spoiler:

One is Carl Sagan's face (which is now broken) on a mountain and the other is a cave-like underground formation. The cave-like formation used to be below the surface, but as of 1.3 it is back at the surface and is visible from low orbit

Gallery

  • Topographical map of Tylo.

  • A topographic height map of Tylo made with the ISA MapSat plugin

  • Picture of Tylo as seen from Laythe

  • A Joolrise with a Laythe transit seen from a very low orbit around Tylo

  • A small crater on Tylo as seen from the surface

  • Three kerbonauts boldly going where no kerbal has gone before.

Notes

  1. Post in the forum by NovaSilisko

Changes

1.11
  • Texture revamp
1.2
  • Updated biomes
0.90
  • Added biomes
0.17
  • Initial release
  • v
  • t
  • e

Kerbol System

KerbolMohoEveKerbinDunaDresJoolEeloo

(The Sun)

  • Gilly
  • Mun
  • Minmus
  • Ike
  • Laythe
  • Vall
  • Tylo
  • Bop
  • Pol
Tylo - Kerbal Space Program Wiki (2024)

FAQs

Why is Tylo so hard to land on? ›

Because of its high gravity and lack of an atmosphere, Tylo is very hard to land on and reach orbit from.

How much delta V to get off Tylo? ›

You need at least 3070 m/s delta-v and a twr of 0.8, double that if you want to get back in orbit.

Is KSP used by NASA? ›

He (Doug Ellison) notes that many at NASA use KSP to experiment in ways that their more unforgiving real-world environment wouldn't allow them to do. In essence, they can do a rough test of the many strange ideas that never quite make it off the 'sketch on a napkin'.

Is Jool a gas giant? ›

Jool is a gas giant and the sixth planet orbiting Kerbol. It is the Jupiter analog for Kerbal Space Program. Aside from Kerbol itself, Jool has the largest diameter and greatest mass of all celestial bodies in the Kerbol System. Its extremely high gravity makes orbital maneuvers unpleasantly expensive.

How big is Moho? ›

Moho
Equatorial radius250 000 m
Equatorial circumference1 570 796 m
Surface area7.8539816×1011 m2
Mass2.5263314×1021 kg
37 more rows
Mar 20, 2024

How big is Pol? ›

Pol
Equatorial radius44 000 m
Equatorial circumference276 460 m
Surface area2.4328494×1010 m2
Mass1.0813507×1019 kg
36 more rows
Mar 21, 2024

Has Elon Musk played Kerbal Space Program? ›

The SpaceX and Tesla boss has been showing his appreciation for Kerbal Space Program for years. In a Reddit ask me anything session in 2015, he said the game was “awesome”. KSP has also acknowledged the relationship in the past – and even asked for similar help.

How accurate is KSP to real life? ›

Physics. While the game is not a perfect simulation of reality, it has been praised for its largely accurate orbital mechanics; all objects in the game except the celestial bodies are simulated using Newtonian dynamics.

How is KSP used in real life? ›

Application of KSP in Real Life

One such application is in the field of environmental science, where KSP values are used to predict and control the solubility of pollutants in water bodies.

Why is Jool green? ›

The green color of Jool is likely the result of certain compounds in its atmosphere.

Can jool and eeloo collide? ›

It is the seventh and farthest planet from Kerbol most of the time, though its orbit intersects Jool's, passing in front of it for a minority of its revolution period. The two planets are locked in a 3:2 resonance, which, coupled with their different inclinations, ensures they cannot collide.

Is there a 5th gas giant? ›

The four gas giant planets in our solar system -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune -- may have a long-lost relative. According to a new study, our system was once home to a fifth gas giant that suddenly vanished some 4 billion years ago after a run-in with Neptune.

Does Laythe have an atmosphere? ›

Laythe has an atmosphere thick enough and warm enough to support liquid water on its surface.

Does POL have an atmosphere? ›

Like most of the moons around Jool, Pol has a tenuous atmosphere hugging the surface consisting mainly of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), with smaller amounts of sulfur monoxide (SO), sodium chloride (NaCl), and atomic sulfur and oxygen.

Does Vall have an atmosphere? ›

Like most of the moons of Jool, Vall hosts a faint atmosphere hugging the surface. On Vall, the exosphere is comprised mostly of carbon dioxide (CO₂) being leaked from under the icy surface.

Where does Kerbin atmosphere start? ›

Atmosphere extended from ~34,500 m to ~69,000 m.

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