Interplanetary Research Vessel

Interplanetary Research Vessels are specialized ships for scientific research beyond Earth. These ships tend to range in size from relatively small Corvette sized explorers to Destroyer sized advanced research platforms. IRVs owe much of their mass to the need to comfortably support a crew of scientists and researchers, as well as whatever projects they are working on in compartmentalized environments if need be. IRVs are usually equipped with sophisticated multi-spectral scanners and high powered telescopic cameras to observe interstellar phenomenon and survey celestial bodies. Many IRVs come with drones and probes of varying sizes and specifications to gather data and samples for the IRV's crew.
Most IRVs are designed to operate at moderate ranges from Earth without support, and make up the majority of the traffic to Mercury, Venus, and the Jovian system. A few classes of Interplanetary Research Vessel are also built as Deep Space Explorers for missions to the further reaches of the Solar System or express journeys to the nearer destinations.