Agency reveals concept designs for how animals might conquer space

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Agency reveals concept designs for how animals might conquer space

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 Label:

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It's generally believed that humans will be the ones to conquer space– but could animals be better placed for its challenges?

That's the question asked by a whimsical project, dubbed Nonhuman Autonomous Space Agency, which takes an alternative look at space travel.

Created by the Maryland-based Working Group on Adaptive Systems, it imagines a future in which manatees and chickens would have recreated their own ecosystems inside of spaceships.

Created by the Maryland-based Working Group on Adaptive Systems, the whimsical concept imagines a future in which manatees and chickens would have recreated their own ecosystems inside of spaceships

'In recent decades, space exploration has been the heroic imperative of humankind, but this was not always the case,' the group writes on their website.

'The first Earthlings in space were dogs, monkeys, and rabbits. Offering the opportunity to explore space back to nonhumans reveals new opportunities, risks, and rewards.

'Would an animal already adapted for life in a weightless medium not be better suited for free fall?

'What would an intelligent, curious, nonhuman mammal with a twitter account want to see and do in high Earth orbit and beyond?

'Would an animal adapted for life in a weightless medium not be better suited for free fall?' the group asks

Its creators hope that the Nonhuman Autonomous Space Agency will remind people that the future doesn't just belong to humans. The concept envisions a future in which manatees would use tablets

The imaginary world is set in a space habitat known as 'the Lazy River,' which is modelled on south Florida

It's generally believed that humans will be the ones to conquer space– but could animals be better placed for its challenges? Pictured is an artist's concept of what animal space travel might look like

THE ANIMAL SPACE RACE

While this project takes a light-hearted look at animal space travel, a number of creatures have been key to exploring new frontiers.

Six national space programs have so far flown animals into space: the Soviet Union, the United States, France, China, Japan and Iran.

They were used as surrogates to test the suitability of the environment for humans.

Fruit flies were the first animals to be sent into orbit when they were put on board a U.S.-launched V-2 rocket on February 20, 1947.

Two years later, Albert II, a Rhesus Monkey, became the first monkey to go into space.

In November 1957 Russia sent Laika the dog into orbit aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft.

Then, on January 31, 1961, Ham became the first chimpanzee launched into outer space as part of the Nasa space programme.

'It's a Utopian vision in some ways, because it imagines a future where the people of Earth value our environment so much that we try to recreate it in space.

The imaginary world is set in a space habitat known as 'the Lazy River,' which the group says is modelled on south Florida.

It has a seven-fold symmetry, formed using a 3D printer, with a river in the middle, and windows fore and aft that receive sunlight.

It rotates to provide artificial gravity forces equivalent to those found on the surface of Mars, about a third of the strength of Earth's gravity.

This amount of gravity allows chickens to jump, and manatees to crawl up beams. Special goggles prevent the manatee's eyes from drying out.

Their aim in the design of the Lazy River was to create as many opportunities as possible for interaction between the animals and the robot caretakers.

Its creators hope that the Nonhuman Autonomous Space Agency will remind people that the future doesn't just belong to humans.