Why use Kerbals?

[Miniboyss]

There actually IS an advantage to using kerbals over probes! If you have a kerbal in a pod, you can actually move the ship around easier because the kerbal can will lean in the direction you need to go, making you turn faster! I read this somewhere, don't know if true or not.

[Boris_T_Roach]

Well my outer worlds missions and the moho one too have all been probes, eve research flight ended up with kerbals on gilly, as well as a rover and a mapsat, and the duna mission ended up with 3 kerbals standing on the singing hill, before they barely made it back into orbit and had to be picked up by the carrier ship by remote control (thank gawd I stuck a probe and an RTG on it)

Only reason my kerbals have'nt gone out to jool etc is because I want the probes and mapsats out there first to see where to land, anyway.... a Tylo return mission... hmmm gonna be fun

[Solex]

I like using both probes and Kerbals, usually using the former in an attempt to get to planets and moons successfully before sending the Kerbals in ships. Though generally using Kerbal controlled craft is much more interesting to do. So many valid reasons are provided in former posts, though, no need to repeat them!

[Kromey]

I guess I'm the odd man out, but no Kerbal pilots a rocket until I've mastered the necessary skills using probes first. I also intend to use probes to plan out the landing zones for all future manned landers, which for interplanetary voyages means the probe lander will go along with a manned one (because I'm impatient)!

I forgot this rule the first time I took a plane up, and lost a good Kerbal. A legendary Kerbal, really; Jeb, you are missed! (The irony is that he survived a flameout and flat spin, fully recovered, only to then explode from hitting the runway a smidge too fast!) A subsequent manned rocket failed spectacularly the moment the physics loaded on the launchpad, too fast for me to hit the carefully-constructed abort even (although a subsequent test, while fatality-free, proved that the as-of-then untested LES didn't really even work anyway)!

Those 4 Kerbal souls are the only fatalities in my own space program, which I view the purpose of to be sending Kerbals, not just probes, into space. The Kerbals, they do fly, I just fly probes first to make sure I know what the heck I'm doing before endangering anyone!

[Vanamonde]

A probe can not contemplate the mysteries of the cosmos.

[astropapi1]

Every single manned craft I build has escape systems.

Not a lot of people cared about Luna 2, and a lot of them don't even know about it; But 500 million people stared at their TVs as Neil Amstrong climbed down the ladder of the Eagle.

It's exciting to have your little kerbals walk down a ladder and... do Science!

[m1919]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Landing a probe on a planet isn't the same as landing a Kerbal on another planet and walking for the first time in an alien atmosphere.

[whatisthisidonteven]

With the technology available, we can send rockets and landing craft to the Mun and beyond using automated guidance (probes) for command modules. Therefore, it is not ethical, moral, or even rational to utilize Kerbals to crew these ships, especially considering the high rate of failure that has been experienced.

How do you justify the sacrifice of so many Kerbals in your space program? Why do you continue to ask (or force) our people to make the ultimate sacrifice?

I have not yet sent a Kerbal into space. I use probes exclusively. This saves Kerbal lives. And, if at some point a horrible tragedy occurs that makes the probes become self-aware, and they return to take over Kerbin, then I for one welcome our new machine overlords.

(Yes, this post was made tongue-in-cheek.)

I don't justify it because I've yet to kill or strand a kerbal in my main save in 0.19. It's more satisfying to put kerbals on other worlds. Also when 0.20 comes, I assume probes can't plant flags, so that's another reason to do manned missions.

[Peenvogel]

Using the crew support mod adds a whole new level of depth to the game. Also I use the crew manifest mod and play in DID mode. It's pure cosmetic, but pushes you to be more careful with your Kerbals.

[Echostatic]

A probe can not contemplate the mysteries of the cosmos.

Mine have recently started to do so. They've been contemplating other things, too. It's starting to make me nervous...

[SkyRender]

Mine have recently started to do so. They've been contemplating other things, too. It's starting to make me nervous...

You should really delete that "Skynet" app you downloaded for them. I suggest you also switch away from the GlaDOS operating system. They'll behave if you do that.

[_Aramchek_]

With the technology available, we can send rockets and landing craft to the Mun and beyond using automated guidance (probes) for command modules. Therefore, it is not ethical, moral, or even rational to utilize Kerbals to crew these ships, especially considering the high rate of failure that has been experienced

(Yes, this post was made tongue-in-cheek.)

Wha....?

Honestly, I like killing the little regenerating creatures in interesting ways.

[Fractal_UK]

Because Kerbin is overpopulated and its large economy is fast using up its resources, the rest of the solar system however has very few Kerbals and very many resources. I will not be satisfied until my Kerbals have spread across the solar system like a plague, billions of Kerbals living on every planet - for every Kerbal lost in a tragic accident, there will be 100 Kerbaldren born to my successful colonists, their sacrifice will pave our way to galactic greatness!

[Kerbol Prime]

I use kerbals because I'm a maniac and they are my test dummies. But, I hear they will be able to plant flags. For now though they fix wheels, repack chutes, and enjoy death. I feel no remorse.

[Kerbol Prime]

Explains the endless supply of pilots.

[TheDarkStar]

I use Kerbals for almost everything. Over the time I have played, I have probably killed between 1500 and 2000.

[Kromey]

For now though they ... repack chutes...

Wait, what? You can repack chutes? Is this a mod, or part of stock? If the latter, this changes everything!!!

[Dictator Dan]

Wait, what? You can repack chutes? Is this a mod, or part of stock? If the latter, this changes everything!!!

It is stock, but it has to be a maned (kerballed) ship in order to be done. Right click the part, once landed.

[Brotoro]

Wait, what? You can repack chutes? Is this a mod, or part of stock? If the latter, this changes everything!!!

Stock. While your kerbal is on EVA (either in space or on ground) they can repack chute if you right-click on it and choose to do so.

[Werwolf]

Same reason man went to the moon.

For the hell of it.

Also, you can use a kerbal to unfold solar panels on ships with no battery power, i.e. a probe.

[Peenvogel]

Also, you can use a kerbal to unfold solar panels on ships with no battery power, i.e. a probe.

Really? I didn't know that! So there actually was a way to fire up my dead orbiting probe instead of terminating the flight.

[karolus10]

Other question is how much different for scientists (read, people who can't go there anyway) on kerbin/earth is having on surface an bunch of sophisticated robots waiting for their commands and real people doing similar tasks .

Also robots have no objections for abandoning them on some dusty rock as soon as they do the job.

[Unistrut]

For me it is simple, a Kerbal cannot attain paradise unless he has been killed in the interest of SCIENCE!

The harder it is to find a piece large enough to bury, the more glory he receives on the other side.

They're like little green science vikings.

[_Aramchek_]

For me it is simple, a Kerbal cannot attain paradise unless he has been killed in the interest of SCIENCE!

The harder it is to find a piece large enough to bury, the more glory he receives on the other side.

They're like little green science vikings.

I really like this theory.

[Tw1]

I fly with them, because they're (mostly) exited and enthusiastic about going to space. My space program put a kerbal on the Mun to because it was there, and because they wanted to see if they could.

I use probes when the kerbals aren't ready for a trip, like investigating the surface of Eve, or doing the 300 day long trip to Jool with little knowledge of whether they'll succeed.

Some of the kerbals are maniacs. They have no concern about jumping in an experimental vehicle and flying of to the moon on a one-way trip. I let them, because I have two reliable rescue rocket designs that can take them home.

Sometimes it's nicer to have them there. I imagine they help set up the satellites properly.

Otherwise, things could go wrong with no way to fix it. Other times, they're

essential for the mission.

This rover-probe would've landed upside down without a kerbal to stand in the way of its trajectory, as it was deployed from the ship.

The same model landed sideways on Moho, and required two kerbals to work together to turn it to the right position. On its own it may have ended up upside down.

Sure, a different design could've avoided those problems, but the point is, astronauts/kerbals can find was to correct unexpected problems better than probes can.

And lastly, it's nicer to have intelligent creatures there to witness the other worlds.

I like to imagine some of my kerbals are artists, and make drawings and write stuff to bring back home. You can't do that with a probe.

So basically, if the kerbals are willing, and have what they need to get there and survive, (and most of the time, return) They're more better than probes.

Probes have their place, but so do kerbals.