Sending kerbal pets into orbit

[Bilfr3d]

What if you were able to send some kerbal animals up into a satellite or send some pets along with the kerbalnaughts.

[VerdammteSeele]

lol, This would be fun. I'm not too hopeful for seeing it implemented, but it would definitely be fun.

[SpaceshipPuzzle]

I think it would be pretty amazing to send some pets onto a satellite, like a kerbal monkey or something. We could imitate NASA sending pets up!

[Joe Shmoe]

LOL Mut-nik in ksp!

[corrylb19]

This could actuallya be valuable in career mode, as it could be used to test conditions too risky for Kerbals. It is how many space programs started....

[Morty_jhones]

or as an option if your safety record runs to low, ops killed and stranded to many kerbals, right send in the pets!.

[Ernest3.14]

But... does this conflict with "no aliens"? Or do they not count as aliens if they're from Kerbin?

[Bilfr3d]

I wouldn't think so. I'm not exactly 'demanding' it either, just suggesting, having a discussion.

[Mr. Scruffy]

´Pigs in Space´, but only this time send the frog?

[MadBender]

test conditions too risky for Kerbals.

We have Jeb for this

[Mr. Scruffy]

I think this is wonderful xp-material. It shouldnt require really new mechanics - just a few parts and the pets as crew - and could be ´tagged´ on (and integreated into career-mode), once the game´s released, imho. Being it´s own expansion pack /dlc, the proper love could be invested into doing this: You know, like having different pets with different properties and have them all fleshed out fitting into the kerbal universe with the proper cutiesy aspect.

The stranger sort of idea: Maybe, by then, KSP will be popular enough to strike beneficial cross-marketing deals. Like, you know this animal from ´cut-the-rope´ (demo came with my new laptops windows8, preinstalled), which you are trying to feed. That could be a kerbal pet.

[Beeman]

Sending animals into space could be how you research life support things. Then again, people HATE killing pet lookin' animals in games(usually) and space agencies testing rockets on animals was particularly cruel, if I recall correctly. Hmm...

Then again, if they made them silly looking creatures and not earth-like creatures, perhaps it wouldn't affect people as emotionally as sending up a dog lookin' like Lassie or something XD

I remember back in the World of Tanks beta the dog houses would make yelp sounds when you ran them over. They removed that because it upset a lot of animal lovers. Not going to lie, it always made me feel bad when I ran over a dog house. So it's just one of those things you'd want to tiptoe around, if that makes sense.

[Dart980]

You could train kogs (kerbal dogs) and made them walk on Mun, Minmus...

[Insomn]

One of the science modules should literally just be an ant farm.

[Fooblack]

And after a few tests involving the unfortunate but necessary sacrifice of several of kerbal's best friend, with animal rights breathing down their neck, Kerbin space command developed a re-useable robotic sensor package designed to determine the effects of given conditions on a small mammal without expensive life support or waste management systems. Or any more lawsuits. We'll call it the Light Artificial Intelligence Kanine Alternative... LAIKA

[Canopus]

I really don't get why this is such a problem for some people. Its just a game after all.

[lajoswinkler]

I don't really see the purpose for sending animals in KSP space, and I certainly see no purpose for sending pets.

In real life, animals were strapped onto rockets during the time of testing the conditions of space. They were used to test exposure to weightlessness and cosmic radiation.

Every other test could be done on the ground, and it was done. Acceleration, dehydration, asphyxia, vibrations, prolonged exposure to tight, closed containers, just to name the few.

Those were indeed cruel tests, and there were even worse tests in the past, when people were learning about how animal bodies function. The attrocities done behind the walls of laboratories were unimaginable to average people.

It was in the times when people had no idea whether it's even possible to live in orbit for extended amount of time. In KSP, we obviously already know it's possible because if it was not, the whole game would not have a purpose now, would it?

Animals in KSP space would not be useful, and quite frankly, it's makes the whole thing a bit stupid and wimpy. In Minecraft, dogs and cats protect you, cows and chickens give you food.

What would animals do in KSP? Stand around? I don't want to come off as a jerk, but it's something for little girls' games. Career mode should be about collecting samples and extending the reach in the Kerbol system, not about buying clothes and having pets.

Edited September 2, 2013 by lajoswinkler

[Fooblack]

I don't really see the purpose for sending animals in KSP space, and I certainly see no purpose for sending pets.

In real life, animals were strapped onto rockets during the time of testing the conditions of space. They were used to test exposure to weightlessness and cosmic radiation.

Every other test could be done on the ground, and it was done. Acceleration, dehydration, asphyxia, vibrations, prolonged exposure to tight, closed containers, just to name the few.

Those were indeed cruel tests, and there were even worse tests in the past, when people were learning about how animal bodies function. The attrocities done behind the walls of laboratories were unimaginable to average people.

It was in the times when people had no idea whether it's even possible to live in orbit for extended amount of time. In KSP, we obviously already know it's possible because if it was not, the whole game would not have a purpose now, would it?

Animals in KSP space would not be useful, and quite frankly, it's makes the whole thing a bit stupid and wimpy. In Minecraft, dogs and cats protect you, cows and chickens give you food.

What would animals do in KSP? Stand around? I don't want to come off as a jerk, but it's something for little girls' games. Career mode should be about collecting samples and extending the reach in the Kerbol system, not about buying clothes and having pets.

There's other effects worth studying, even now in real life. Sure, you can LIVE in space just fine. But what about long-term effects of kosmic radiation? Bone density and other physiological changes? In career mode, such tests would make an excellent early-game Science project. As I understand it, Science will be your source of income, and animals are much cheaper and lighter than people. And if life support ever gets fleshed out, that base you built on Duna is gonna need food. So either you can keep shipping it to them, or send them a hydroponics bay. But your space agency won't want to bother with the cost of that until you make sure the plants can survive the trip in a viable state, which will require putting them in orbit and bringing them back. So yes, biological experiment subjects could have a place in the game as sources of income and research advancement.

[HueHue]

I don't really see the purpose for sending animals in KSP space, and I certainly see no purpose for sending pets.

In real life, animals were strapped onto rockets during the time of testing the conditions of space. They were used to test exposure to weightlessness and cosmic radiation.

Every other test could be done on the ground, and it was done. Acceleration, dehydration, asphyxia, vibrations, prolonged exposure to tight, closed containers, just to name the few.

Those were indeed cruel tests, and there were even worse tests in the past, when people were learning about how animal bodies function. The attrocities done behind the walls of laboratories were unimaginable to average people.

It was in the times when people had no idea whether it's even possible to live in orbit for extended amount of time. In KSP, we obviously already know it's possible because if it was not, the whole game would not have a purpose now, would it?

Animals in KSP space would not be useful, and quite frankly, it's makes the whole thing a bit stupid and wimpy. In Minecraft, dogs and cats protect you, cows and chickens give you food.

What would animals do in KSP? Stand around? I don't want to come off as a jerk, but it's something for little girls' games. Career mode should be about collecting samples and extending the reach in the Kerbol system, not about buying clothes and having pets.

It's been said that the Career mode will start essentially in the early days of rocketry. In the early days of rocketry, we weren't entirely sure what would happen when someone went into orbit. You didn't just look up and say "rockets and space must exist for a reason, therefore people can go up there dandy". Call it life support research.

[Saberus]

The idea all reminds me of when I first learned about Laika, the first dog in space. Even though I learned so long after the fact, her story simply broke my heart. I'd like to think that this game won't go in that direction, the Kerbals lack anything resembling safety compliance, so they likewise might have no issue sending themselves to test these alien conditions...

[lajoswinkler]

There's other effects worth studying, even now in real life. Sure, you can LIVE in space just fine. But what about long-term effects of kosmic radiation? Bone density and other physiological changes? In career mode, such tests would make an excellent early-game Science project. As I understand it, Science will be your source of income, and animals are much cheaper and lighter than people. And if life support ever gets fleshed out, that base you built on Duna is gonna need food. So either you can keep shipping it to them, or send them a hydroponics bay. But your space agency won't want to bother with the cost of that until you make sure the plants can survive the trip in a viable state, which will require putting them in orbit and bringing them back. So yes, biological experiment subjects could have a place in the game as sources of income and research advancement.

If we expect Squad will include dogs and cats for the Kerbals to strap onto rockets and blast them away, that might cause problems.

I'm all for plants and simple stuff (bacteria, insects, maybe even tribbles and flat cats, google it) and longterm research, but Laika scenarios? Strapping mammals to rockets to see how well they handle the carnage?

No. It's useless and cruel. Laika and other "space dogs" were used to test the very basics, the viability of human spaceflight. If there was something in the space that would kill animals, humans would've never go there.

If there was a possibility that Kerbals could never orbit, KSP would not have a purpose.

It's been said that the Career mode will start essentially in the early days of rocketry. In the early days of rocketry, we weren't entirely sure what would happen when someone went into orbit. You didn't just look up and say "rockets and space must exist for a reason, therefore people can go up there dandy". Call it life support research.

Early days of rocketry in KSP mean that you're trying to build a rocket from the most primitive parts available, hoping it won't disintegrate. It has absolutely no connection to animals.

[innovine]

I wouldn't mind having little canisters that would pop open and release little poodles or chihuahuas into the vacuum of space. They could wiggle and get bulgy eyes, before they pop. For, uh, science purposes.