Should Astronauts be Allowed to Take Their Pets in Space

Imagine doggie breath in a space capsule. And I suppose you would have to diaper fido or spend a lot of time with a net snagging stuff floating around.

Frogs seem to be OK with weightlessness. Here is one levitating diamagnetically above a very strong magnet.

https://slate.com/business/2014/05/nobel-prize-in-physics-andre-geim-went-from-levitating-frogs-to-sciences-highest-honor.html

Snakes

Could a bird fly in the ISS?

I would think so. Birds are very light, just a minor adjustment for which they would quickly adapt, I would think.

Would a dog stop barking in space?

Yes, after you don your spacesuit and let the air out of the capsule. When his mouth stops moving, replace the air.

Just kidding...

Just to be clear...

This is just dark humor. Seriously, I would never do this to an animal.

Don't apply as a writer for dark mirror just yet.

<...Could a bird fly in the ISS?...>

Er, all things can <...fly...> in the ISS...

...even these:

Several monkeys have already been in space. I don't think it was long, but they were strapped in and had to perform simple tasks which were completed.

I think there were a couple(?) dogs as well. too early to look it up...

I would like very much to see a cat in a weightless environment. "I" wouldn't want to be near it, video would be fine.

Laika got a one-way ticket, a last meal, and 7 days of oxygen.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sad-story-laika-space-dog-and-her-one-way-trip-orbit-1-180968728/

It's well known that cats will always land on their feet when dropped. According to this clip, those cat-like reflexes are completely lost in a weightless environment. Along with cats, the Airmen fly pigeons in a weightless state, and some of them wound up flying upside down.Feb 22, 2016

start at 3:41

No, I think it is bad idea. Why are they needed there?

The monkeys are there to play with m&Ms.

Birds. now that would be interesting since their flight mechanism is more about overcoming gravity than aerial propulsion. I would imagine they would have a very difficult time of it since the action reaction of flapping wings would produce some very different thrust vectors than the birds brain was used to compensating for.

Cats, now that would be different. Certain breeds are aboreal and used to being off the ground. Also those that swim like tigers and panthers would probably adapt better/faster, but I still wouldn't want to be in the capsule with a freefloating cat.

Getting to the ISS would probably terrorize the pet enough to make the transition to free fall a relief, in more ways than just one. Long before that, a trip on the vomit comet should be performed with the pet. Not every human can cope with free fall. I doubt every astronaut's pet can cope with it, too.

LOL so true.

I always wondered how I would fair since I am prone to seasickness (seriously) and experience it in any side to side motion ride (think carnival rides like the scrambler, tilt o whirl, and certain cars whose suspension is weak etc.) but have no issues at all with up down, Zero G/ excessive G (rollercoasters, ferris wheels, and such)

I'm thinking it's a bad idea to have your pets in space. In addition to animal hair (and dog slobber) in the air you are breathing, you also have all the "stuff" your dog leaves on the ground or floor on earth for you to clean up after gravity conveniently keeps it in one place.

Do dogs also get hairballs?

AAAHHHH! A Bloom County Reference! I thought you a kindred spirit Red.

Canaries, in gages, maybe...

Yes, that should have said ''Canaries, in cages, maybe, to possibly detect otherwise non-detected gas leaks, like in a coal mine...''

The calculation is quite simple.

There is a cost-per-unit-weight-payload attached to getting things into orbit. Things would be <...Allowed...> if the value-per-unit-weight-payload exceeded this figure.

A sloth seems already geared for space living....

...but they're so disgusting...