Why probe instead of people

[N1cutzu]

In Ksp there is not much sense in why whod you send a probe instead of kerbal (science mode). Now Im talking about sending probes to like duna or minmus not jool or perhaps OPM. I think this problem can be fixed by adding sanity bars to the kerbals that meaning that they can't support to stay up in space for years and that they need to be replaced. I also think that by adding seasons to KSP 2 will fix this because just think about that a probe could stay forever in space and why not get passive science from it sometimes (from observing the seasons). I was also thinking of cameras (for photos). I think that will be a nice think to have not only for science gather but also for space enthusiasm 

[jimmymcgoochie]

First of all, probes are generally much lighter and cheaper than crewed craft so you can send more of them or do so sooner; they’re also expendable and generally speaking don’t come back, so need less fuel making them cheaper and lighter still. It’s also OK to crash a probe, but less OK to crash when Kerbals are involved.

Look at the history of human space flight- so far there have been five independent rover missions to Mars plus many more landers and orbiters; dozens of orbiters and landers on Venus (which no human will ever set foot on any time soon due to the 90+ atmospheres of pressure, lead-melting temperatures and the clouds of pure sulphuric acid) and more to come; probes to orbit Jupiter and Saturn and fly by their moons, and even land on Saturn’s moon Titan; probes to visit Ceres and Vesta in the asteroid belt; probes to visit asteroids and comets and in some cases return samples to Earth; not to mention the Voyager probes which flew past all four gas giants and are now outside the Solar system.

In contrast, only six human Moon landings have happened to date and a total of twelve men have walked on the Moon; no human has ever traveled beyond Earth’s gravity well. Launching crewed missions just to low Earth orbit is staggeringly expensive and going further afield is even more staggeringly expensive; probes cost tens or hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars (or an equivalent of the local currency, be that euros, roubles, yen etc.) but the Apollo program cost a total of over a quarter of a trillion dollars in today’s money.

Back to KSP and I think you might be interested in Kerbalism- it adds crew health, both mental and physical, life support, science experiments that take time to complete, part failures and more to make the game more “realistic”, though each part can be turned on or off as you like so you could use just the science and crew stress systems without full life support or part failures.

[mikegarrison]

Bottom line is that KSP is not really a simulation of reality. It's a game. There are life support mods and enhanced reality mods and mods that do exactly what you ask for (consider the time a Kerbal has been in space). I suggest you try playing with them and see if you like it better. I've done it, but decided to switch back to a more stock-like experience because it just turned out to be less fun that I thought it would be (IMO).

KSP2 is supposedly going to emphasize colonization, which will probably mean they need to add in stuff like this.

Edited June 17, 2021 by mikegarrison

[Slyguy3129]

I wish we started with probes rather than manned missions.

But I use probes to look at what kind of dV budget I need for a mission. If I feel it's too dangerous, I send a probe.

I just now got into orbit of the Mun, after multiple probes to test my budget. (In my current super high difficulty career play through)

I also use probes to complete the "Test X at Y" contracts so I don't accidentally kill Jeb in the process.

If I absolutely need a pilot, and figure a high chance of failure, I send Val or whoever she is. After I finish the rendezvous contracts she is dead weight to me. If I lose her and need another pilot, I replace her with an appropriate gender.

[pandaman]

7 hours ago, Slyguy3129 said:

I wish we started with probes rather than manned missions.

But I use probes to look at what kind of dV budget I need for a mission. If I feel it's too dangerous, I send a probe.

I just now got into orbit of the Mun, after multiple probes to test my budget. (In my current super high difficulty career play through)

I also use probes to complete the "Test X at Y" contracts so I don't accidentally kill Jeb in the process.

If I absolutely need a pilot, and figure a high chance of failure, I send Val or whoever she is. After I finish the rendezvous contracts she is dead weight to me. If I lose her and need another pilot, I replace her with an appropriate gender.

Well, I sure am pleased I don't work for you..

 

[Slyguy3129]

31 minutes ago, pandaman said:

Well, I sure am pleased I don't work for you..

 

Why?

Edited July 4, 2021 by Slyguy3129
?

[pandaman]

1 hour ago, Slyguy3129 said:

Why?

Haha, just the way you seemed to address the potential demise of one of your precious crew.

8 hours ago, Slyguy3129 said:

After I finish the rendezvous contracts she is dead weight to me. If I lose her and need another pilot, I replace her with an appropriate gender.

I know that is the realistic and  practical way to deal with it, but it just came across a bit 'casual'.   And I would like to think my employer had a slightly higher regard for me and my safety.

No offence intended, just a bit of light hearted banter.  Apologies if it came across that way.

Edited July 4, 2021 by pandaman

[Slyguy3129]

12 minutes ago, pandaman said:

Haha, just the way you seemed to address the potential demise of one of your precious crew.

I know that is the realistic and  practical way to deal with it, but it just came across a bit 'casual'.   And I would like to think my employer had a slightly higher regard for me and my safety.

No offence intended, just a bit of light hearted banter.  Apologies if it came across that way.

Not at all, I've moved this to dms as someone out there might actually take serious issue to it. Not that I care, but just to keep the peace.