Bugs in Space.

[Omits]

In my draft novel I have a race of evolved Mantis. They are not affected by zero G (like bugs humans have tested in Space). I am seeking ideas as to what the inside of their Space craft might look like and thus it's overall shape. Any ideas appreciated. Thanks.

 

[KiraAnn]

You have to figure out how they sleep, eat and sit for starters. That mantis body seems difficult for those activities for some thing approaching 4' (or 1.2m) or larger.

 

[Omits]

You have to figure out how they sleep, eat and sit for starters. That mantis body seems difficult for those activities for some thing approaching 4' (or 1.2m) or larger.

Like humans they have evolved into an intelligent race and can build a generation ship (a first for them). The Earth mantis is the nearest equivalent. They are aliens and re heading for Earth!

 

[Swank]

Like humans they have evolved into an intelligent race and can build a generation ship (a first for them). The Earth mantis is the nearest equivalent. They are aliens and re heading for Earth!

You can have wide open spaces with perches, or small spaces. You can have both, or something in between. What would you like?

 

[Omits]

Wide open spaces I like and semi desert habitat is probably easy to create in a Spaceship. Cacti for water and to lay their egg cases. Their living space as it were.

 

[Swank]

Wide open spaces I like and semi desert habitat is probably easy to create in a Spaceship. Cacti for water and to lay their egg cases. Their living space as it were.

I thought you said it was zero G.

 

[farntfar]

What does a mantis nest look like on Earth? Would that be a reasonable shape for space?
I was thinking that the shape, and internal design of a wasp or hornet's nest would work very well for space travel.
Bt a mantis?
Do the even live in groups or colonies? I thought they were individuals.

 

[Omits]

OK, they are aliens so could evolve as social so I could stick with that. I should have said Mantis like creatures so mandibles and able to leap. The similarity could stop there.

No gravity or artificial gravity (lack do not affect them) so I need an environment to suit. There is atmosphere so they can use their wings but need to crawl and leap so they either have magnetic soles on hind and forelegs. The space inside will be large (generation ship) so I could invent a nanofoam grid over the ground which also acts to anchor the desert and one overhead. This will allow leaping around. I have them at about 2.2m tall (7').

 

[Wayne Mack]

For the basic shape of the ship, you might want to research O'Neill cylinder - Wikipedia . The general physics of spaceship design won't change due to the creatures inside. The creatures may be relatively small; I believe hearing that exoskeletons limit the potential for growth. Of course one can simply choose to ignore it. One interesting aspect to consider is whether the creatures periodically shed their shells. Does this lead to a time of social isolation for them? Also, does the ship need to have some way of processing discarded shells? There's probably a lot that could be done with both the social and technical aspects of the creatures shedding shells. Do they have a high need for calcium or other minerals to regrow shells?

This could be a very interesting world to design. Have fun with it.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

Mantis don't have nests. The eggs hatch in packed cellulose egg cases about 1-1/2 inches long. There can be hundreds of eggs in a case. They hatch all at once and stream out of the case as miniature (5 to 10 mm in size) mantises ready to take on the world eating size appropriate insects. The exoskeletons are made of chitin, its like natural plastic, no calcium, its hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, completely recyclable. They have unique a vision system. Forward looking eyes with 3-D vision that tracks on movement unlike our vision which tracks on looks. Extremely efficient, effective, and ties up very little brain power.

 

[Elentarri]

Watch youtube videos of mantises in nature? Maybe you will get ideas that way?

They have a lot of legs so the inside of the ship should have lots of "hand-holds" or have some sort of material that is velcro-like so the mantis claws can "stick"? Maybe more tunnel-like interior and a tube/cigar shaped ship than a big open human ship like they have on TV shows? Harnesses, or maybe padded cocoons, rather than chairs?

Do your mantis-alien females also eat their males after mating? Do your mantis-aliens eat live-food like the real mantis, or "protein bars" from a replicator? If they eat live food, they will need a way of storing/growing that food. You can do something like an ant nest, only the larvae can end up growing into soldiers or food?

 

[Swank]

If it is alien, being "mantis like" doesn't mean it has any characteristics of earth mantises at all. It just looks similar.

I still do not understand how a creature evolved in gravity is going to take advantage of sand glued to the walls when there is no gravity.

 

[Omits]

Interesting points. The story is not so much about the technicalities rather they are a threat to Earth. Agreed though when humans visit their craft I need to describe to some extent what they see.
I'm thinking the 'desert' will be ingrained in the nanofoam (not sure if this term is quite right) grid (fat tube-like structure) from which their materials and food will grow. They live amongst it.

Some insects are not affected by lack of gravity. Copy my Mantes.

Food? Supplements, males, farm. Let's face it there are no solutions to how we might design a working self-sufficient generation ship, most of it will be Sci-Fa.

Keep firing those broadsides!

 

[Swank]

Some insects are not affected by lack of gravity.

All insects are affected by zero G - just not necessarily negatively. But no gravity will cause differences in posture, locomotion, feeding, etc.

 

[Omits]

All insects are affected by zero G - just not necessarily negatively. But no gravity will cause differences in posture, locomotion, feeding, etc.

Sure, same for astronauts.

 

[Foxbat]

Bugs have an open circulatory system and relies on body cavity shape and the positioning of internal organs to provide distribution of oxygenated blood to vital areas.
How would this work (or would it work) if a bug was human sized? Would gravity affect the operation of flow at this scale?

Also, insects rely on diffusion for oxygenation rather than lungs so they would most likely suffocate through lack of oxygen if they were the size of humans.

 

[Omits]

Bugs have an open circulatory system and relies on body cavity shape and the positioning of internal organs to provide distribution of oxygenated blood to vital areas.
How would this work (or would it work) if a bug was human sized? Would gravity affect the operation of flow at this scale?

Also, insects rely on diffusion for oxygenation rather than lungs so they would most likely suffocate through lack of oxygen if they were the size of humans.

Thanks. Good questions. Regardless, as they are aliens I likely don't need to solve that one from the point of view of Earth bugs. They evolved on another planet. But, they would likely have many times the air holes then.

 

[Foxbat]

I had an idea about the air situation if you do find it problematical. Perhaps they evolved an extra section of their exoskeleton (I thought probably on the thorax). This would be a hollow chamber in which air could collect. Two small muscles within this cavity could act as intake and outflow valves to allow this air to pass through to the body internals. This would act to supplement the air through their normal breathing holes. It would be as if they had their very own air tank on their back (and it could be useful in space)

 

[Wayne Mack]

Perhaps the mantis creatures could have a variation on gills? They could have evolved from ocean based crustaceans and have adapted to breathe pure air. This could give them the capability to be live both on land and water on Earth.

 

[Omits]

I like the idea of them being ale to be exposed to space for say a couple of hours w/o protection. I chose desert loving aliens as it means their dependency on water is lower so their habitat on board can store only a small amount regenerating it when the opportunity arrives to capture an ice bearing rock floats by.