The first interplanetary probe mission by the KSA has targeted Duna with a large payload of scientific instruments. Duna I includes a mapping probe that will scan Duna's surface from a polar orbit to construct biome, terrain and slope maps. It also has a ballistic probe it will drop through Duna's atmosphere to measure its properties while descending, possibly reaching the surface intact. The transfer stage that will carry both these probes into orbit around Duna will also perform its own science in orbit above Duna and its satellite Ike.
We are currently studying Duna's atmosphere, which allow us to build up a more detailed model so when we test the drop probe in Kerbin's atmosphere we can make a good comparison and properly plan for the actual Duna probe drop in early 2016. Originally we planned to just let the probe go and get back whatever data we could, but the abundance of Δv we have available in Duna I has led us to change our plans and incorporate the craft itself into our Duna atmospheric research.
We've completed our second dip pass and all systems are nominal. There was a minor issue prior to the dip where one of the solar panels failed to retract on command. Thankfully Duna's atmosphere is so thin we were able to proceed with it open. Had we needed to abort, a quick burn would have pushed us directly away from the planet and above the atmosphere. It turned out the panel did retract after a delay & prior to the atmosphere - engineers are looking into it.
