32 monkeys have been blasted into space by various nations. But is the age of projectile primates over?

Question

Would Nasa send an monkey to Mars in preperation for a future manned mission? Could an aquarium be set up to enhance morale on the ISS? Could canaries be used to check for dangerous gases ala coal mines?

Ultimately, do animals (uh, barring Homo Sapiens) have any role in the cosmos anymore, or are they completely redundant?

Answer 1

The monkeys were sent to space to find out how the space environment would effect living beings - something that was unknown at the start of the space program. It would be almost as expensive to send a monkey to Mars as a human - need for life control, etc. - and you would not get any additional good out of it. (A monkey can't explore on it's own, make repairs, etc.)

Taking an animal into a space vehicle introduces a lot of risk - you don't want the monkey pushing buttons or slinging poo - so I doubt that it will be done.

I guess you could have an aquarium but it's a pretty expensive proposition - takes up space, water, oxygen, etc.

The atmosphere inside a spacecraft is being continually monitored and an alarm is triggered if something is amiss. This is better then a canary since the bird can die during the night and no one would notice.

I don't see animals going into space except as experiments or until we start building colonies and need food stocks.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

This is actually an intelligent question. However, as I have this obsession with comparing George W. Bush with monkeys, my answer would run along that line.

Answer 3

Humans are primates too. So, I suspect the age of projectile primates is not over. I would hope it is over for those who don't volunteer though.

Answer 4

BUSH IS A DAM.N DIRTY APE!!