How Kerbals Cope With Radiation

[CosmicX1]

I was wondering how our little green friends manage to survive trips into deep space, long term missions on Laythe, and prolonged operation of Mark 1 Jaegers. Interplanetary missions would soak up lots of dangerous cosmic rays (one of the reasons why a manned Mars mission might be a one/no way trip) and Laythe has been confirmed by word of god to be dangerously radioactive due to it's proximity with Jool. Even spending time on a space-station could increase the chances of developing cataracts.

I doubt all KSP capsules are lead lined, so I would assume Kerbals have some kind of adaptation, be it physiological, anatomical or behavioural, that prevents their veteran pilots from dying young. Either that or Jebediah keeps a special fix-all, badass ointment in his locker.

My suggestion then would be that Kerbals are completely 'immune' to cancer, like Naked Mole Rats (look them up, they're amazing animals). Any cancerous cells they develop are simply stopped from growing by hormones before they can become problem.

This however, is just one of the dangers posed by radiation, so I was wondering if you guys had any other ideas!

[Sapphire]

Being green, I bet they're like the Hulk, so they probably have a really high radiation tolerance.

[Vaebn]

Technically speaking, radiation doesn't sound like something -that- hard to deal with, so a different evolution path could perhaps be more resistant to it.

The reason I am saying its not that hard, is because it goes like this.

Already cells have some limited self and DNA repairing abilities, however a main problem with that process is that it seems to only take into account the information inside its own cell. DNA for example will use "the other strand" to repair itself, but when both strands happen to get damaged its screwed.

Yet, radiation only damages a couple of cells which means that usually, you'd have a lot more cells that are radiation un-damaged, than radiation damaged. All of them containing a perfect copy of their original DNA (incidentally the concept of a "DNA" for a product of a different evolution process is probably bs, but nod along) What an organism could have, is a way for a cell to "statistically sample" the cells nearby, for their own copy of DNA!

So, if in 1000, or 10000 cells said copy is one way, and in 1, with both strands damaged, another, then a process ought to be able to figure out, that, that's how it ought to repair it even if the cells itself doesn't know it. Or kill it.

That would make an organism significantly more radiation resistant. So resistant that part of the reason it doesn't exist, might be that being able to get DNA "easily" damaged, kinda helps evolution, whilst such a thing would basically stop evolving. (such a process could even fix damage from free radicals and such)

I can perfectly imagine such a system working for a different biology though. For example, perhaps some random "damage" could be introduced only during reproduction, in which case an organism could both evolve, and have radiation resistance. Such a system could develop in a system where "radiation resistance" is a much more important factor, than on earth (where things -don't- usually die from cancer before reproduction, so it's hardly an advantage).

(Keep in mind that ultra-high doses that kill many cells at once would still kill you. The same way we have "UV resistance", but it you stand in the path of a huge UV laser, you'd still be toast)

[astropapi1]

AFAIK, they suffer a disease called "Gamicus Unfinicus" or something like that.

It allows them to overcome radiation, super high pressures, insane heat...

[Guest]

The number of biological challenges involved would mean it's more productive for nature to create a creature that is smart enough to make a radiation suit than come with built in redundancy. (I.E. Humans)

[Brotoro]

Kerbals have DNA with extensive checksums.

[The Jedi Master]

They wear space suits constantly. Who ever said that the space suits can't be shielded?

Also, I honestly don't buy the idea that Laythe is blasted by radiation. It has an atmosphere, meaning it could theoretically host a magnetic field.

Edited August 26, 2013 by The Jedi Master

[Duxwing]

Perhaps Kerbals aren't just resistant to radiation but feed off it. Such an ability would explain the absence of farmland on Kerbin.

-Duxwing

[SkyRender]

Actually, Kerbals are mildly radioactive. What, did you think you can see their faces inside their visors at night because of some sort of lighting system? Nah, they're glowing faintly.

[Sapphire]

Perhaps Kerbals aren't just resistant to radiation but feed off it. Such an ability would explain the absence of farmland on Kerbin.

-Duxwing

This is actually a great idea! Maybe that's why they love to go to space? Because food!

[Tw1]

Perhaps Kerbals aren't just resistant to radiation but feed off it. Such an ability would explain the absence of farmland on Kerbin.

I considered that a possibility as well. It's evidently not the main food source, but could be supplementary. Still too much would not be good for them.

[lajoswinkler]

They eat ungodly amounts of spinach, which is actually what Zeus ate before coming down from Mount Olympus for a quickie with local girls, guys or farm animals.

The spinach covers their cell nuclei with small resistant plates and facilitates genome repair.

Kids, eat your spinach.

(I remember once right clicking on a Kerbal on the surface of Eve, and it said something like high pressure suit or something like that, but there was a pun. One of the older versions. I've never seen that reference again.)

[Guest]

The only organisms capable of surviving in irradiated areas that we know of are forms of fungi and simple single celled organisms, while specific fungi have been observed flourishing in irradiated areas it is still under speculation whether or not they actually feed off it. Also "Survive" is a relative term, all living creatures are negatively impacted by radiation, some just grow fast enough to make up for it. If kerbals are sentient and have DNA, they will not be able to withstand any substantial amount of radiation deviating beyond anything on earth due to the complexities of multi-structured organisms and the inability of such organisms to restructure after traumatic loss of tissue to radiation. DNA is fragile and easily broken. If kerbals bear any resemblance to earth life they cannot survive the unforgiving radiation of space. Either the suits are shielded, the pods are sheilded, both, or we are playing a game made by software designers, not biologist.

[Kerbart]

They've grown up on a planet with an average density of 58 g/cm³. Given that the heaviest metals here on earth go for around 20 g/cm³, we're talking about way, way, waaaaay deep in the table of elements. I bet that most of them are highly radioactive isotopes. I'm sure that if they evolved on a highly radioactive planets, they're pretty resistant to radiation.

[leax256]

They've grown up on a planet with an average density of 58 g/cm³. Given that the heaviest metals here on earth go for around 20 g/cm³, we're talking about way, way, waaaaay deep in the table of elements. I bet that most of them are highly radioactive isotopes. I'm sure that if they evolved on a highly radioactive planets, they're pretty resistant to radiation.

you know some of the last 10 or so have only been created by super speed collisions and are so unstable that they fall apart in about .00001 sec

[TheHockeyPlayer]

I always thought that Kerbals had characteristics akin to those of Superman; they can never die of starvation, asphyxiation, or dehydration, not to mention the fact that they can survive forever just floating in space, alone. With the ability to cheat death like that, why not let them have the ability to withstand high levels of radiation?

Edited August 26, 2013 by TheHockeyPlayer

[Spyritdragon]

Triple-helix DNA? Statistically you'd reduce the chances of cancerous mutations by multiple factors, since you'd need three strands to fail at the same time rather than two.

[FITorion]

They wear space suits constantly. Who ever said that the space suits can't be shielded?

Also, I honestly don't buy the idea that Laythe is blasted by radiation. It has an atmosphere, meaning it could theoretically host a magnetic field.

Having an atmosphere doesn't necessarily mean magnetic field. Venus has an atmosphere and does not have a magnetic field. Laythe is the closest moon in to Jool. It would be like IO and Jupiter in our own system and would be in the highest radiation zone caused by Jools magnetic field.

It could have a strong magnetic field... it just doesn't have to have one.

[CosmicScientist]

Actually, Kerbals are mildly radioactive. What, did you think you can see their faces inside their visors at night because of some sort of lighting system? Nah, they're glowing faintly.

And didn't you notice no matter how long you keep their helmet lights on, they never run out of battery life? I think you've got it.

[Brapness]

you know some of the last 10 or so have only been created by super speed collisions and are so unstable that they fall apart in about .00001 sec

There are some who believe-or hope-that once you get beyond a certain atomic number, say about 130, that they start becoming stable again, which is one way they justify continuously trying to make heavier elements.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

And dont worry about being sterilized by Radiation... Kerbals reproduce themselves by mitosis... because they have only one sex.

[Asmayus]

Those magical elements exist in a place called the island of stability. And AFAIK, they've started to find more stable very heavy elements that last a few seconds now, suggesting that it does in fact exist.

It would be kind of cool if all of kerbin was made from super-rare elements we haven't discovered yet.

The alternative is that Radiation doesn't exist within the Kerbal universe.

Or maybe it will be added whenever they get around to life support systems.

[lajoswinkler]

"Stability" in "island of stability" is a relative term. When you're surrounded by the "sea" of isotopes that decay in a matter of miliseconds, your 7 minutes seem like an incredibly long time.

Nothing above uranium can be found in nature as primordial and in more than trace quantities that occur because of natural fission. It has all decayed.

I don't get why are you wrapping your head around this. This is a game. You can not explain it because it's a designed environment. It's like trying to explain the jagged world of Picasso using science. You'll fail.

[Zeblote]

Karbels don't sleep, don't eat, don't go on toilets, survive in space, don't get injured easily... they are obviously robots.

[Bothersome]

Also, who says they are even DNA/RNA water based life forms? They may be made of silicon as far as we know. But, if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they are made of bits.