What do Kerbals eat? (lore)

[Andrew1233]

What do Kerbals eat? 

1: Ice Creams, they love it, we can find that on reports for Minmus.

2: Snacks(nonsense)

3: Pizza and Soda, found in KSP2 tutorials: https://imgur.com/a/WOC6Jcc

4: Sandwich(and everything in it), found in KSP2 tutorials:https://imgur.com/a/KKqiTUI

5: Pancakes(and everything on it), found in KSP2 tutorials:https://imgur.com/a/X7ZOuXa

6: MOAR ICE CREAM(and everything on it like cherry and Sprinkles),  found in KSP2 tutorials:https://imgur.com/9OqCISd

7: Donut(and everything on it), found in KSP2 tutorials and in a name of KSP1 fuel tank: https://imgur.com/53U454u

8: Coffee, found on KSP1 loading screens.

9: Baguette, found in a name of KSP1 fuel tank.

10: Dumplings, found in a name of KSP1 fuel tank.

11: Choco-pie, found on KSP1 loading screens, wasn't sure tho bc might be a Kerbal ripoff.

I can't think of anything else, if u know, comment below!

Edited February 28 by Andrew1233

[ARS]

Since they're green... Soylent green

[Andrew1233]

10 hours ago, ARS said:

Since they're green... Soylent green

Now we know what are the green on Kerbin, they are not grass

[RoninFrog]

They eat mushroom stew.

[sumghai]

Many years ago, I wrote a comprehensive (headcanon) list of Space Shuttle and ISS-inspired space food menu for my Kerbalnauts, based on what would be sensible for storage, nutrition and morale:

 

[TheFlyingKerman]

Blueberries is mentioned as a surface feature.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

They don't, they're photosynthetic. That explains why they're all green, and why they don't starve to death in long space trips.

[GluttonyReaper]

10 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

They don't, they're photosynthetic. That explains why they're all green, and why they don't starve to death in long space trips.

I like to think they enjoy eating, but they don't have to. Hence why they get grouchy on long trips without snacks...

Edited September 27 by GluttonyReaper

[Cracktacular]

Soylent green?

[Kerbalsaurus]

They drink coffee, as in loading screens Jeb can be seen drinking it, as well as scientists working on chalkboards. Also, we know they eat mint ice cream as it is implied in  one of the surface sample dialogues on Minmus.

[SchwinnTropius]

On 9/26/2024 at 4:23 PM, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

They don't, they're photosynthetic. That explains why they're all green, and why they don't starve to death in long space trips.

I've interpreted their ability to survive in deep space and their green skin to mean they're more radiosynthetic, and that they're green simply because their main source of radiation happens to be Kerbol. This headcanon is based on a fungus that grows in the broken Chernobyl reactor; this fungus grows tendrils that seem to reach for the radioactive core like tree branches towards the sun. Kerbals can simply sit in a can in space and absorb cosmic radiation to survive, bathing in the ancient echos of the stars.

Edited November 24 by SchwinnTropius
Minor detail addition

[TupperGamer90]

On 9/27/2024 at 6:23 AM, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

They don't, they're photosynthetic. That explains why they're all green, and why they don't starve to death in long space trips.

And so they could just survive in long space trips alongsides a few snacks for the flavor?

[Mr. Kerbin]

13 hours ago, SchwinnTropius said:

I've interpreted their ability to survive in deep space and their green skin to mean they're more radiosynthetic, and that they're green simply because their main source of radiation happens to be Kerbol. This headcanon is based on a fungus that grows in the broken Chernobyl reactor; this fungus grows tendrils that seem to reach for the radioactive core like tree branches towards the sun. Kerbals can simply sit in a can in space and absorb cosmic radiation to survive, bathing in the ancient echos of the stars.

I like this. Also here's more lore, based on that.

The kerbals are a new civilization. There actually used to be an old civilization here- you may have known them as the Precursors. Let's call them.. the Larbek. (totally not kerbal spelled backwards)

The Larbek originate from Kerbin, but they called it Sumuh. It was cold, the Sun was smaller and less bright, 0.872x the mass of our sun.

The Larbek became more and more advanced, using monoliths as flags/communication. arches to easily get around....

but one day...

war.

After many unfortunate events- including, but not limited to

A large body, around 40km, hitting already tense Laythe, causing volcanic eruption, and general badness causing the planet to intensely heat up, ice to melt, oxygen to become atmosphere, causing the Laythe today, and similar things with Dres, Ike, and Minmus- why they have nearly no craters- Eve like in Before Kerbin being whacked by Demise (a explodium rich moon from Before Kerbin), and not mentioning the fallout of the bodies being whacked. AND THEN A GAMMA RAY BURST!

After that, nuclear war broke out, causing the Larbek to die off, from high radiation from the weaker ozone and the war.

However.

A fungal growth appeared. And a took a shape. Learning to walk. Learning to be something. Becoming self aware on this charred world. Some grew into a green substance all over the planet, killing a lot of plants off, consuming all buildings into the one, with the occasional tree or grass left. This is not true if you have Parallax, as it still has life and plants.

But some refused. Becoming kerbals. Self-repairing radiosynthetic little green guys. They can eat. When they do, it is much easier then absorbing radiation.

While clumsy, incredibly smart. Living underground to avoid the monster above.

Soon building a giant facility. You know this as the KSC. In the hopes to escape this dying world, soon to die from the giant monster (Or the green stuff) consuming the world, and the Sun becoming a Subgiant (why it is so big), and twice as luminous. And yet, of all the people on Kerbin to lead them to the stars, they chose you.

 

Edited Monday at 05:51 AM by Mr. Kerbin

[q250]

On 11/24/2024 at 9:02 PM, SchwinnTropius said:

green skin to mean they're more radiosynthetic

On 11/24/2024 at 9:02 PM, SchwinnTropius said:

green skin

problem that only known pathway to  radiosynthesis is through melanin, which is not green, its black. 

my take is that kerbals is sentient algae, product of genetic modification of unknown  civilization, which  also build  now defunct portal on mun, who takes local algae that covers whole planet, you think why its green but almost no trees, and mix it with best genes they have. but something go wrong, they build KSC, extraplanetary launchpad for them, and left.  after little while, like 100 or so years, kerbals develop science and in particular genetics, and for great shock discover that kerbals and local algae something like 97%  compatible. clueless why such thing happened, and no material evidence for natural selection, they start thinking that "it must be panspermia", and all their space fairing effort has one clear goal, answer question "how we get here?".  that version also explain why green goo, yes its grey goo, but it should be called green, is first scientific experiment, kerbals simply trying to find conditions that trigger their evolution.  their best theory: simple algae live on kerbin; big meteorite strike, some algae thrown into space; later that algae landed somewhere, evolving in protokerbals; another meteorite strike, protokerbals thrown into space; later protokerbals lands on kerbin, evolving in kerbals.

as for radiation, kerbals not so much eating it, as pooping it, working as radionuclide concetrators.

[Mr. Kerbin]

12 hours ago, q250 said:

problem that only known pathway to  radiosynthesis is through melanin, which is not green, its black. 

Who’s to say in that in the time kerbals/The One didn’t find a better way that just so happened to be green?

Also deserts are just areas that have been “consumed” by The One (planet wide fungi), and pretty much dead zones , without nutrients or much water.

[q250]

48 minutes ago, Mr. Kerbin said:

Who’s to say in that in the time kerbals/The One didn’t find a better way that just so happened to be green?

common sense. to absorb and metabolize high, like REALLY HIGH, energy photons and not get them through so they can damage dna, your radiation absorber substance needs to be blacker than black.

 

[Mr. Kerbin]

19 minutes ago, q250 said:

common sense. to absorb and metabolize high, like REALLY HIGH, energy photons and not get them through so they can damage dna, your radiation absorber substance needs to be blacker than black.

Well, we have multiple layers of skin- why not kerbals?

But that's just a theory, a star theory?

[SchwinnTropius]

Imagining a vantablack layer of skin underneath a layer of chlorophyll skin definitely gives a ghastly vibe.

[q250]

because this  would temper with their radiosynthesis ability. if we allow multiple layers and top layer is not radiosynthetic than top layer simply would be damaged all time by gamma rays that otherwise would be absorb properly by melanin, thus decreasing efficiency. even on earth if parameters  would not be fine tuned we could end up with black plants.

my point of objection why kerbals need to be radioactively pooping algae is gameplay-wise and tied to extraplanetary bases problem. why we need kerbal boots on ground? all isru can work autonomously by remote control, 20x times slower but still. why do we need all that glass domes, inflated habitat and such? why essentially we need to build kerbals space village? low taxes on extraplanetary property? roleplay? silly contract with 6M kerbal $? it can be obtained more easily  through bunch satellites contracts.  it simply bad game design - you have ability to do something, but it pointless, without clear sense of progression. take back satellites example - it is good game design, because you need that satellite network anyway. and why you need satellite network? so you can send autonomous probes/rovers to surface. clear progression: satellites contracts ->satellite network -> autonomous probes/rovers. with bases it dosent work: base contracts -> bases-> nothing. one solution i saw in Civilian Population mod that make kerbals pay fee to live in your base. problem with this is it hard to balance. if you make fee too small, than it unnoticeable and dosent change anything. if you make fee too big then you broke game economy, as soon your base start make money you can relax see how money go up. so i think we need something else, that not tied to money, at lest directly.  so radioactive poop seems to me good solution.  pipeline look like this: base contracts -> bases->radioactive poop->radioactive fuel for nuclear engines and reactors OR sell for money. balancing this is also quite easy, just make selling(to you) price 10x then buying price.

 

[jimmymcgoochie]

Some of the above discussion seems to be adding an extra letter H to "in-situ resource utilisation"...