Animals... In Space

[Spacescifi]

 

Ad Astra had a short horror scene with the baboons aboard the derelict spacecraft.

It got me thinking though, if we put animals in space on spacecraft that coasted a lot, which animals would be an optimal fit?

Nominate an animal and explain how they would be dealt with.

 

I nominate cats. 

 

I would deal with them by putting lots of stuff for them to grab onto, and also putting the crew in plushy suits so they do not get clawed too bad. Also get them diapers... you know why. At least they do not eat too much.

Unlike these guys...

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Spacescifi

[Nuke]

as much as i like kitties, i dont think id want to bet my life by giving them free run of the station. and they would always be meowing to go outside. of course if you can make provisions for safety why not. i think primates might do better in zero gravity. if you have a centrifuge i guess anything goes. and you would probably want to sedate them for zero g operations, launch and reentry. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Nuke

[cubinator]

Hard to say. What purpose are these animals serving? Just existing? Producing something like a farm? If we're not interested in any special purpose then my nomination is...

Spiders. They can web wherever they need to. Imagine a spaceship completely full of spiderwebs and spiders...Or maybe don't if you're not into spiders....

[Spacescifi]

15 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Hard to say. What purpose are these animals serving? Just existing? Producing something like a farm? If we're not interested in any special purpose then my nomination is...

Spiders. They can web wherever they need to. Imagine a spaceship completely full of spiderwebs and spiders...Or maybe don't if you're not into spiders....

 

Pets for companionship. Take Fluffy with you.

But you make a good point, in such a closed environment everybody needs to conyribute.

On Earth cats and dogs contribute by either killing critters/pests, or in the case of dogs, sounding the alarm against all intruders.

In space... they cannot contribute anything I can think of other than companionship.

Spider silk is useful, bit you would need a bugs for the spiders to eat. Flies do not even fly well in space, so spiders may adapt their webbing to cover walls and surfaces. Since flies have been known to give up and just start walking.

Flies would have food in the form of astrobaut turds (poop).

Could work.

[kerbiloid]

Cats are not space-friendly. Space is not cats-friendly.

They hate zero-G, getting everywhere, walking here and there permanently trying to open eevrything what's closed, leave marks liquid every corner not only corners, vomit, scratch everything scratchable.
Also they like to hide somewhere and keep watching and not responding.
That's what we like them for!

You don't want to open the hatch while the kitty is hiding in the bay, and a second later find your spacesuit pierced by him/her a minute ago.

***

Gnats and various web-making things are not an option at all when you have to pump the air through the pipes across the station. (For most of people in any case at all).
Unless they are captured in a glass box _{and jettisonned from the bay}.

Edited October 9, 2019 by kerbiloid

[Reactordrone]

Cats in zero g are fairly funny though,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9XtK6R1QAk

 

[kerbiloid]

Until you need to gather products of their fun floating around.

[mikegarrison]

That seemed needlessly cruel to the cats. First they dropped them, several times. Then they batted them around as they were floating.

[RCgothic]

Cats also require soft media in which to toilet. I can't imagine any environment without at least some simulated gravity being suitable.

[kerbiloid]

Also after toilet and before licking the human face, the cats like to wash themselves, at this will cause uncontrollable cat rotation.

[farmerben]

 

[Nuke]

15 hours ago, mikegarrison said:

That seemed needlessly cruel to the cats. First they dropped them, several times. Then they batted them around as they were floating.

those guys probably found hairballs in their shoes later.