Spiders In Space: How to design a space suit for an arachnid?











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In my stellar empire, the sapient life of the home world are arachnids. Due to an oxygen-heavy world with certain evolutionary characteristics, spider-like beings developed intelligence and formed society, leading them (eventually) to start looking toward the stars. This led to the development of space suits for the pioneering arachnid astronauts.



What would these look like? How would space suits be differently designed to support arachnids?



Let us posit that the arachnids are roughly 4 feet from "spinneret" to fangs. Their legs are large enough to support them (I don't know what that is). They're light compared to us (maybe 25 pounds at the heaviest - bear with me on the whole square cube law deal). They have roughly equivalent technology levels to ourselves at the time of our first missions into the stars.










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  • 30




    I'd love to downvote and VTC because of the shudder factor alone but I'll be good, at least you didn't feel the need to include pictures.
    – Ash
    Nov 19 at 18:14






  • 12




    Wow. I thought this would be relatively straight-forward (for someone familiar with human spacesuit design, especially if they've adapted any for, say, dogs or non-human primates). Then I read Joe's answer. Far more complex than I would have dreamed possible. Awesome question for this site.
    – Cyn
    Nov 19 at 20:57






  • 10




    The obvious answer is that the space suit should just be a regular human EVA suit, in which the spider can stow away, and only show itself crawling on the inside of the faceplate during a spacewalk... :D
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:57






  • 2




    Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this question. The last thing I need in my mind are spiders crawling across the universe weaving their web from planet to planet. shudders
    – Sora Tamashii
    Nov 19 at 23:41






  • 13




    Before you go much further, perhaps you should read "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has put an immense amount of thought into this, and related questions: amazon.com/gp/product/1447273303https://www.amazon.com/gp/…
    – Michael MacAskill
    Nov 20 at 0:03















up vote
69
down vote

favorite
17












In my stellar empire, the sapient life of the home world are arachnids. Due to an oxygen-heavy world with certain evolutionary characteristics, spider-like beings developed intelligence and formed society, leading them (eventually) to start looking toward the stars. This led to the development of space suits for the pioneering arachnid astronauts.



What would these look like? How would space suits be differently designed to support arachnids?



Let us posit that the arachnids are roughly 4 feet from "spinneret" to fangs. Their legs are large enough to support them (I don't know what that is). They're light compared to us (maybe 25 pounds at the heaviest - bear with me on the whole square cube law deal). They have roughly equivalent technology levels to ourselves at the time of our first missions into the stars.










share|improve this question




















  • 30




    I'd love to downvote and VTC because of the shudder factor alone but I'll be good, at least you didn't feel the need to include pictures.
    – Ash
    Nov 19 at 18:14






  • 12




    Wow. I thought this would be relatively straight-forward (for someone familiar with human spacesuit design, especially if they've adapted any for, say, dogs or non-human primates). Then I read Joe's answer. Far more complex than I would have dreamed possible. Awesome question for this site.
    – Cyn
    Nov 19 at 20:57






  • 10




    The obvious answer is that the space suit should just be a regular human EVA suit, in which the spider can stow away, and only show itself crawling on the inside of the faceplate during a spacewalk... :D
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:57






  • 2




    Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this question. The last thing I need in my mind are spiders crawling across the universe weaving their web from planet to planet. shudders
    – Sora Tamashii
    Nov 19 at 23:41






  • 13




    Before you go much further, perhaps you should read "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has put an immense amount of thought into this, and related questions: amazon.com/gp/product/1447273303https://www.amazon.com/gp/…
    – Michael MacAskill
    Nov 20 at 0:03













up vote
69
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up vote
69
down vote

favorite
17






17





In my stellar empire, the sapient life of the home world are arachnids. Due to an oxygen-heavy world with certain evolutionary characteristics, spider-like beings developed intelligence and formed society, leading them (eventually) to start looking toward the stars. This led to the development of space suits for the pioneering arachnid astronauts.



What would these look like? How would space suits be differently designed to support arachnids?



Let us posit that the arachnids are roughly 4 feet from "spinneret" to fangs. Their legs are large enough to support them (I don't know what that is). They're light compared to us (maybe 25 pounds at the heaviest - bear with me on the whole square cube law deal). They have roughly equivalent technology levels to ourselves at the time of our first missions into the stars.










share|improve this question















In my stellar empire, the sapient life of the home world are arachnids. Due to an oxygen-heavy world with certain evolutionary characteristics, spider-like beings developed intelligence and formed society, leading them (eventually) to start looking toward the stars. This led to the development of space suits for the pioneering arachnid astronauts.



What would these look like? How would space suits be differently designed to support arachnids?



Let us posit that the arachnids are roughly 4 feet from "spinneret" to fangs. Their legs are large enough to support them (I don't know what that is). They're light compared to us (maybe 25 pounds at the heaviest - bear with me on the whole square cube law deal). They have roughly equivalent technology levels to ourselves at the time of our first missions into the stars.







science-based engineering space-exploration






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edited Nov 19 at 21:32









manassehkatz

3,142423




3,142423










asked Nov 19 at 17:47









GuidingOlive

4951211




4951211








  • 30




    I'd love to downvote and VTC because of the shudder factor alone but I'll be good, at least you didn't feel the need to include pictures.
    – Ash
    Nov 19 at 18:14






  • 12




    Wow. I thought this would be relatively straight-forward (for someone familiar with human spacesuit design, especially if they've adapted any for, say, dogs or non-human primates). Then I read Joe's answer. Far more complex than I would have dreamed possible. Awesome question for this site.
    – Cyn
    Nov 19 at 20:57






  • 10




    The obvious answer is that the space suit should just be a regular human EVA suit, in which the spider can stow away, and only show itself crawling on the inside of the faceplate during a spacewalk... :D
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:57






  • 2




    Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this question. The last thing I need in my mind are spiders crawling across the universe weaving their web from planet to planet. shudders
    – Sora Tamashii
    Nov 19 at 23:41






  • 13




    Before you go much further, perhaps you should read "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has put an immense amount of thought into this, and related questions: amazon.com/gp/product/1447273303https://www.amazon.com/gp/…
    – Michael MacAskill
    Nov 20 at 0:03














  • 30




    I'd love to downvote and VTC because of the shudder factor alone but I'll be good, at least you didn't feel the need to include pictures.
    – Ash
    Nov 19 at 18:14






  • 12




    Wow. I thought this would be relatively straight-forward (for someone familiar with human spacesuit design, especially if they've adapted any for, say, dogs or non-human primates). Then I read Joe's answer. Far more complex than I would have dreamed possible. Awesome question for this site.
    – Cyn
    Nov 19 at 20:57






  • 10




    The obvious answer is that the space suit should just be a regular human EVA suit, in which the spider can stow away, and only show itself crawling on the inside of the faceplate during a spacewalk... :D
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:57






  • 2




    Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this question. The last thing I need in my mind are spiders crawling across the universe weaving their web from planet to planet. shudders
    – Sora Tamashii
    Nov 19 at 23:41






  • 13




    Before you go much further, perhaps you should read "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has put an immense amount of thought into this, and related questions: amazon.com/gp/product/1447273303https://www.amazon.com/gp/…
    – Michael MacAskill
    Nov 20 at 0:03








30




30




I'd love to downvote and VTC because of the shudder factor alone but I'll be good, at least you didn't feel the need to include pictures.
– Ash
Nov 19 at 18:14




I'd love to downvote and VTC because of the shudder factor alone but I'll be good, at least you didn't feel the need to include pictures.
– Ash
Nov 19 at 18:14




12




12




Wow. I thought this would be relatively straight-forward (for someone familiar with human spacesuit design, especially if they've adapted any for, say, dogs or non-human primates). Then I read Joe's answer. Far more complex than I would have dreamed possible. Awesome question for this site.
– Cyn
Nov 19 at 20:57




Wow. I thought this would be relatively straight-forward (for someone familiar with human spacesuit design, especially if they've adapted any for, say, dogs or non-human primates). Then I read Joe's answer. Far more complex than I would have dreamed possible. Awesome question for this site.
– Cyn
Nov 19 at 20:57




10




10




The obvious answer is that the space suit should just be a regular human EVA suit, in which the spider can stow away, and only show itself crawling on the inside of the faceplate during a spacewalk... :D
– Dewi Morgan
Nov 19 at 22:57




The obvious answer is that the space suit should just be a regular human EVA suit, in which the spider can stow away, and only show itself crawling on the inside of the faceplate during a spacewalk... :D
– Dewi Morgan
Nov 19 at 22:57




2




2




Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this question. The last thing I need in my mind are spiders crawling across the universe weaving their web from planet to planet. shudders
– Sora Tamashii
Nov 19 at 23:41




Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this question. The last thing I need in my mind are spiders crawling across the universe weaving their web from planet to planet. shudders
– Sora Tamashii
Nov 19 at 23:41




13




13




Before you go much further, perhaps you should read "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has put an immense amount of thought into this, and related questions: amazon.com/gp/product/1447273303https://www.amazon.com/gp/…
– Michael MacAskill
Nov 20 at 0:03




Before you go much further, perhaps you should read "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has put an immense amount of thought into this, and related questions: amazon.com/gp/product/1447273303https://www.amazon.com/gp/…
– Michael MacAskill
Nov 20 at 0:03










7 Answers
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Yeah. For the spiders, this is gunna suck, but it’s not undoable. I do suspect it will be more of an exo-exoskeleton than a suit though.



There’s a couple of reasons why it won’t be particularly pleasant. The first has to do with how unbelievably sensitive spiders are. Their bodies are covered in a variety of specialised hair like structures that give them not one but two extra senses, and they’ve got extra bits in their knees that give them yet another one. The suit is basically going to annihilate any option of using those (especially the hairs for sensing air motion, which in some spiders are sensitive enough to pick up on the pressure caused by a laser pointer). It’d be like someone shining a light into your eyeball, but body wide.



Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are you may need training, drugs or both in order to deal with the suits (as some people may need anti-nausea drugs to deal with zero-G)



The second reason it would either suck or need some exceptional engineering is that terrestrial spiders breathe via almost all of their body. They don’t have particularly dedicated airways or efficient circulatory systems and as such are used to being surrounded by air in order to get enough oxygen into their vital organs. In other words: you need to keep a flow of air between the suit and the spider or they will suffer from the equivalent of hypoxia (which can be thoroughly unpleasant).



That might not seem like an issue, but it really is. Anything pressurised in space will want to puff up like a balloon. That stops you from moving limbs, severely restricting motion. The only way to deal with it is to have rigid ‘space armour’ that air can flow under without deforming the suit, and that comes with a whole extra set of challenges around mobility/cooling. Not only that but you’ll have to have pump air around the suit in order to keep it oxygenated. Pumps vibrate.



Remember those weird knees I mentioned earlier? They’re super-sensitive vibration sensors. To the poor spider inside this vibrating, solid tin can it’s gunna be thoroughly unpleasant.



Manipulators are simple at least as spiders don’t have dexterous fingers to worry about. As such ‘bond villian’ claws can be added to the ends of the suit and operated using simple squeeze actuators without being too weird. Or you could replace with a variety of simple tools. And any suit umbilicals also have a natural attachment point near the spinnerettes where they can be grasped by hind legs.



So basically: armoured, mechanically clawed, permanently on edge spiders floating through space.



Yeah...






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  • 24




    This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
    – GuidingOlive
    Nov 19 at 18:42






  • 12




    A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
    – vsz
    Nov 19 at 22:19






  • 13




    "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
    – Rich
    Nov 19 at 23:02








  • 8




    Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
    – Solomon Slow
    Nov 20 at 22:41








  • 7




    It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
    – Wildcard
    Nov 21 at 19:49




















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They don't need a spacesuit just oxygen



Warning - Video of a spider in a vacuum chamber (it walks around and lives to tell the tale).



https://youtu.be/tA9jcIwvge0?t=243



Judging by the video, they don't even need oxygen for a short space walk.



In response to temperature concerns



It really depends where in space they are. Right next to a star they would be burnt up regardless of a space-suit. Away from any stars they would be frozen solid eventually. Their spacecraft could perhaps beam infra-red at them.



However:




At the Earth's distance from the sun, a space thermometer with roughly
half its surface is absorbing sunlight would register 45 degrees
Fahrenheit.
https://www.space.com/14719-spacekids-temperature-outer-space.html




Also many spiders can survive temperatures below freezing.




"...About 9% of spiders in relatively mild areas remain active
throughout winter. These are nearly all Linyphiids who can still make
a web
at temperatures as low as -1°C. ..."



https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/overwintering.html




Bonus fact



When they go on space-walks, because they're not enclosed in a suit, they don't have to worry about a connecting cable - they can use spider silk to hold them in the place they need to be.






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  • 6




    That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
    – GuidingOlive
    Nov 19 at 22:38






  • 9




    And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:59






  • 24




    @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
    – Austin Hemmelgarn
    Nov 20 at 0:26






  • 17




    Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
    – Draco18s
    Nov 20 at 3:10






  • 5




    GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
    – John Dvorak
    Nov 20 at 14:51


















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I'm going to go in a different direction here and say that instead of making a space suit, make a space pod with mechanical spider legs.



Have an enclosed pod that the spider can sit inside with legs folded and have mechanical arms/legs that support the pod and allow it to walk around. For simplicity, the pod could have 4 or 6 legs, but there could also be different pods for different jobs with a variety of legs or attachments.



This has the benefit of looking like a spider suit, but doesn't have any of the complexity of trying to allow them to use their own legs.






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  • 8




    A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
    – Mr Lister
    Nov 20 at 18:24






  • 8




    +1 for thinking inside the pod.
    – BentNielsen
    Nov 20 at 21:45










  • See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
    – Christopher Hostage
    Nov 21 at 22:42






  • 1




    Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
    – Caius Jard
    Nov 22 at 16:56










  • @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
    – JPhi1618
    Nov 23 at 15:17


















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Hamster ball



Photo of a white hamster in a transparent green plastic hamster ball



A hamster-ball for spiders allows them to breathe through their body, and move around by rolling like a hamster in a ball. Of course a simple plastic ball wouldn't allow much work to be done, but a high-tech ball could have various mechanical appendages to perform any work a space spider needs to do.






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  • +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
    – Zimano
    Nov 22 at 15:04






  • 1




    Wrecking Ball online!
    – Code Whisperer
    Nov 23 at 12:38


















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Tarantulas have retractable claws, similar to that of a cat, so it won't be a far stretch to think a spider could use these claws to fit a suit on.



Tarantulas have a respiratory system that uses book lungs to process oxygen. Tarantulas process oxygen at extremely low rates.



The hairs, or urticating bristles, are a defensive mechanism, early warning system(think Spidey Senses) and even a survival mechanism(some tarantulas use these bristles to create an air bubble around them, giving them potentially hours under water without the need to resurface for air).



Tarantulas are generally measured in diagonal leg span(from the tip of the front leg to the tip of the opposing rear leg).



Tarantulas generally become less active in the cold. Often not eating or drinking for months, or possibly years at a time.



Looking for videos of "tarantula molting" might give you some ideas how they could get the suit on/off. Molting is the process of shedding the old skin.



With all the above information in mind you will need to consider;
Are the suits needed for short space walks or would the Tarantulas be wearing them semi-permanently? This will determine if the suit needs air, heat and durability to elements).



I would design a suit where the only opening would be on the under side of the Tarantuals carapace. Allowing the Tarantula to fit it/remove it in a similar process to how it would molt. The fabric should allow the bristles to 'poke' out. The suit should retain warmth and small amounts of oxygen.






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    up vote
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    Technically, there are two main challenges with space suits.



    1) Keep them loose enough and yet tight enough. Human limbs have bulgy muscles and such, to too tight and it's awfully uncomfortable. Platemail or plastic tubes wouldn't really work. For something that has an exoskeleton, this isn't a big deal, you're just duplicating that, essentially making the exoskeleton thicker.



    2) Joints. Again, this is a challenge, but not too hard. Unlike with humans, all joints in a spider are relatively simple. There are two types: ball-and-socket, and hinge. Hinge (all the knees) are the simplest possible joints in engineering terms, but ball-and-socket (where legs join to body) are a ginormous pain in the ass in every imaginable engineering aspect.



    Not impossible, just so prone to failure. Rather than a ball and socket, probably best to make two hinge joins in a chain, at rightangles to each other. Almost as good as a regular hinge, with most of the advantage of a ball and socket.



    [Edit: it has been pointed out to me that arthropods don't have ball-and-socket, anywhere. They all do the two-hinged-joints thing everywhere, already, as I should have remembered from seeing crabs-legs. This makes exoskeletons insanely easy!]



    So what it should end up like, is basically just a second skin. Spiders and other arthropods are already accustomed to wearing second skins, and are used to getting out of them, as we see here:



    https://i.imgur.com/9K95I6E.gifv






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    • 4




      Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
      – Logan R. Kearsley
      Nov 20 at 4:00






    • 1




      @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
      – Anton Sherwood
      Nov 20 at 5:49






    • 2




      @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
      – Logan R. Kearsley
      Nov 20 at 15:33






    • 1




      Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
      – Lightness Races in Orbit
      Nov 21 at 13:49






    • 1




      @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
      – Dewi Morgan
      Nov 26 at 21:53


















    up vote
    6
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    You need to step back for an easier "in". I said in my comment to @Joe Bloggs's answer:




    Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape
    cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from
    chimpanzees, and [by comparison] we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or
    hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense.



    Compared to other
    mammals, we're practically cut off from the world.



    It's hard to
    imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with
    senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries.




    To answer the question based on that evolutionary assumption, then, you need to answer some questions about what these spiders look like, and how they feel about nakedness. I'm not talking homburg hats and four pair of Docs, but do they have any form of clothing? What are the names of the garments?



    Anyway, to practical matters:




    • Their hairy legs can be practically bald; and wearing a suit would only be as irritating as wearing socks in bed is for me, i.e. a little bit, nothing like unbearable or overwhelming. Sure, let's say they might need to put on some form of undergarment for protection.

    • Their elbow/knee ears could be fed audio communications, designed into the suit, or the undergarment.

    • Multiple eyes could be used for different purposes, assuming the minor pairs haven't atrophied by evolution.

    • Breathing wouldn't be an issue. Spiders and other arachnids breathe through a book lung. Human space suits are pressurized. (If you have gas, you're breathing that back in.) I would assume that spider space suits would also be pressurized. The book lung of the space spider could also have seen modest evolutionary improvements to increase the airflow.


    Everyday clothing is going to be your clue for how to talk about the different components of space suits, and what limitations they might impose on the wearer.



    There is also the problem of the spiders' home atmosphere composition. Earth's has changed over the aeons, so sure, pick something. Maybe "they need more oxygen" which is fine because "they're super-strong". Just make your excuses and run with them. Don't necessarily declare them to the reader, unless they need to know world/space mechanics.



    A couple of objections raised by others to my comment elsewhere:




    1. the human sense of smell may be physically as good as that of dogs, but just out of practice


    2. humans can feel surface bumps which are just 13nm high







    share|improve this answer



















    • 2




      Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
      – Geronimo
      Nov 22 at 0:30










    • @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
      – Rich
      Nov 27 at 17:13











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    7 Answers
    7






    active

    oldest

    votes








    7 Answers
    7






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes








    up vote
    104
    down vote



    accepted










    Yeah. For the spiders, this is gunna suck, but it’s not undoable. I do suspect it will be more of an exo-exoskeleton than a suit though.



    There’s a couple of reasons why it won’t be particularly pleasant. The first has to do with how unbelievably sensitive spiders are. Their bodies are covered in a variety of specialised hair like structures that give them not one but two extra senses, and they’ve got extra bits in their knees that give them yet another one. The suit is basically going to annihilate any option of using those (especially the hairs for sensing air motion, which in some spiders are sensitive enough to pick up on the pressure caused by a laser pointer). It’d be like someone shining a light into your eyeball, but body wide.



    Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are you may need training, drugs or both in order to deal with the suits (as some people may need anti-nausea drugs to deal with zero-G)



    The second reason it would either suck or need some exceptional engineering is that terrestrial spiders breathe via almost all of their body. They don’t have particularly dedicated airways or efficient circulatory systems and as such are used to being surrounded by air in order to get enough oxygen into their vital organs. In other words: you need to keep a flow of air between the suit and the spider or they will suffer from the equivalent of hypoxia (which can be thoroughly unpleasant).



    That might not seem like an issue, but it really is. Anything pressurised in space will want to puff up like a balloon. That stops you from moving limbs, severely restricting motion. The only way to deal with it is to have rigid ‘space armour’ that air can flow under without deforming the suit, and that comes with a whole extra set of challenges around mobility/cooling. Not only that but you’ll have to have pump air around the suit in order to keep it oxygenated. Pumps vibrate.



    Remember those weird knees I mentioned earlier? They’re super-sensitive vibration sensors. To the poor spider inside this vibrating, solid tin can it’s gunna be thoroughly unpleasant.



    Manipulators are simple at least as spiders don’t have dexterous fingers to worry about. As such ‘bond villian’ claws can be added to the ends of the suit and operated using simple squeeze actuators without being too weird. Or you could replace with a variety of simple tools. And any suit umbilicals also have a natural attachment point near the spinnerettes where they can be grasped by hind legs.



    So basically: armoured, mechanically clawed, permanently on edge spiders floating through space.



    Yeah...






    share|improve this answer

















    • 24




      This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 18:42






    • 12




      A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
      – vsz
      Nov 19 at 22:19






    • 13




      "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
      – Rich
      Nov 19 at 23:02








    • 8




      Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
      – Solomon Slow
      Nov 20 at 22:41








    • 7




      It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
      – Wildcard
      Nov 21 at 19:49

















    up vote
    104
    down vote



    accepted










    Yeah. For the spiders, this is gunna suck, but it’s not undoable. I do suspect it will be more of an exo-exoskeleton than a suit though.



    There’s a couple of reasons why it won’t be particularly pleasant. The first has to do with how unbelievably sensitive spiders are. Their bodies are covered in a variety of specialised hair like structures that give them not one but two extra senses, and they’ve got extra bits in their knees that give them yet another one. The suit is basically going to annihilate any option of using those (especially the hairs for sensing air motion, which in some spiders are sensitive enough to pick up on the pressure caused by a laser pointer). It’d be like someone shining a light into your eyeball, but body wide.



    Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are you may need training, drugs or both in order to deal with the suits (as some people may need anti-nausea drugs to deal with zero-G)



    The second reason it would either suck or need some exceptional engineering is that terrestrial spiders breathe via almost all of their body. They don’t have particularly dedicated airways or efficient circulatory systems and as such are used to being surrounded by air in order to get enough oxygen into their vital organs. In other words: you need to keep a flow of air between the suit and the spider or they will suffer from the equivalent of hypoxia (which can be thoroughly unpleasant).



    That might not seem like an issue, but it really is. Anything pressurised in space will want to puff up like a balloon. That stops you from moving limbs, severely restricting motion. The only way to deal with it is to have rigid ‘space armour’ that air can flow under without deforming the suit, and that comes with a whole extra set of challenges around mobility/cooling. Not only that but you’ll have to have pump air around the suit in order to keep it oxygenated. Pumps vibrate.



    Remember those weird knees I mentioned earlier? They’re super-sensitive vibration sensors. To the poor spider inside this vibrating, solid tin can it’s gunna be thoroughly unpleasant.



    Manipulators are simple at least as spiders don’t have dexterous fingers to worry about. As such ‘bond villian’ claws can be added to the ends of the suit and operated using simple squeeze actuators without being too weird. Or you could replace with a variety of simple tools. And any suit umbilicals also have a natural attachment point near the spinnerettes where they can be grasped by hind legs.



    So basically: armoured, mechanically clawed, permanently on edge spiders floating through space.



    Yeah...






    share|improve this answer

















    • 24




      This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 18:42






    • 12




      A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
      – vsz
      Nov 19 at 22:19






    • 13




      "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
      – Rich
      Nov 19 at 23:02








    • 8




      Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
      – Solomon Slow
      Nov 20 at 22:41








    • 7




      It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
      – Wildcard
      Nov 21 at 19:49















    up vote
    104
    down vote



    accepted







    up vote
    104
    down vote



    accepted






    Yeah. For the spiders, this is gunna suck, but it’s not undoable. I do suspect it will be more of an exo-exoskeleton than a suit though.



    There’s a couple of reasons why it won’t be particularly pleasant. The first has to do with how unbelievably sensitive spiders are. Their bodies are covered in a variety of specialised hair like structures that give them not one but two extra senses, and they’ve got extra bits in their knees that give them yet another one. The suit is basically going to annihilate any option of using those (especially the hairs for sensing air motion, which in some spiders are sensitive enough to pick up on the pressure caused by a laser pointer). It’d be like someone shining a light into your eyeball, but body wide.



    Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are you may need training, drugs or both in order to deal with the suits (as some people may need anti-nausea drugs to deal with zero-G)



    The second reason it would either suck or need some exceptional engineering is that terrestrial spiders breathe via almost all of their body. They don’t have particularly dedicated airways or efficient circulatory systems and as such are used to being surrounded by air in order to get enough oxygen into their vital organs. In other words: you need to keep a flow of air between the suit and the spider or they will suffer from the equivalent of hypoxia (which can be thoroughly unpleasant).



    That might not seem like an issue, but it really is. Anything pressurised in space will want to puff up like a balloon. That stops you from moving limbs, severely restricting motion. The only way to deal with it is to have rigid ‘space armour’ that air can flow under without deforming the suit, and that comes with a whole extra set of challenges around mobility/cooling. Not only that but you’ll have to have pump air around the suit in order to keep it oxygenated. Pumps vibrate.



    Remember those weird knees I mentioned earlier? They’re super-sensitive vibration sensors. To the poor spider inside this vibrating, solid tin can it’s gunna be thoroughly unpleasant.



    Manipulators are simple at least as spiders don’t have dexterous fingers to worry about. As such ‘bond villian’ claws can be added to the ends of the suit and operated using simple squeeze actuators without being too weird. Or you could replace with a variety of simple tools. And any suit umbilicals also have a natural attachment point near the spinnerettes where they can be grasped by hind legs.



    So basically: armoured, mechanically clawed, permanently on edge spiders floating through space.



    Yeah...






    share|improve this answer












    Yeah. For the spiders, this is gunna suck, but it’s not undoable. I do suspect it will be more of an exo-exoskeleton than a suit though.



    There’s a couple of reasons why it won’t be particularly pleasant. The first has to do with how unbelievably sensitive spiders are. Their bodies are covered in a variety of specialised hair like structures that give them not one but two extra senses, and they’ve got extra bits in their knees that give them yet another one. The suit is basically going to annihilate any option of using those (especially the hairs for sensing air motion, which in some spiders are sensitive enough to pick up on the pressure caused by a laser pointer). It’d be like someone shining a light into your eyeball, but body wide.



    Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are you may need training, drugs or both in order to deal with the suits (as some people may need anti-nausea drugs to deal with zero-G)



    The second reason it would either suck or need some exceptional engineering is that terrestrial spiders breathe via almost all of their body. They don’t have particularly dedicated airways or efficient circulatory systems and as such are used to being surrounded by air in order to get enough oxygen into their vital organs. In other words: you need to keep a flow of air between the suit and the spider or they will suffer from the equivalent of hypoxia (which can be thoroughly unpleasant).



    That might not seem like an issue, but it really is. Anything pressurised in space will want to puff up like a balloon. That stops you from moving limbs, severely restricting motion. The only way to deal with it is to have rigid ‘space armour’ that air can flow under without deforming the suit, and that comes with a whole extra set of challenges around mobility/cooling. Not only that but you’ll have to have pump air around the suit in order to keep it oxygenated. Pumps vibrate.



    Remember those weird knees I mentioned earlier? They’re super-sensitive vibration sensors. To the poor spider inside this vibrating, solid tin can it’s gunna be thoroughly unpleasant.



    Manipulators are simple at least as spiders don’t have dexterous fingers to worry about. As such ‘bond villian’ claws can be added to the ends of the suit and operated using simple squeeze actuators without being too weird. Or you could replace with a variety of simple tools. And any suit umbilicals also have a natural attachment point near the spinnerettes where they can be grasped by hind legs.



    So basically: armoured, mechanically clawed, permanently on edge spiders floating through space.



    Yeah...







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered Nov 19 at 18:34









    Joe Bloggs

    34k1997169




    34k1997169








    • 24




      This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 18:42






    • 12




      A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
      – vsz
      Nov 19 at 22:19






    • 13




      "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
      – Rich
      Nov 19 at 23:02








    • 8




      Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
      – Solomon Slow
      Nov 20 at 22:41








    • 7




      It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
      – Wildcard
      Nov 21 at 19:49
















    • 24




      This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 18:42






    • 12




      A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
      – vsz
      Nov 19 at 22:19






    • 13




      "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
      – Rich
      Nov 19 at 23:02








    • 8




      Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
      – Solomon Slow
      Nov 20 at 22:41








    • 7




      It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
      – Wildcard
      Nov 21 at 19:49










    24




    24




    This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
    – GuidingOlive
    Nov 19 at 18:42




    This sounds like the kind of nightmare fuel I want. If you're gonna have giant spiders in space why not make them giant mechanized spiders in space. But a question concerning humans, don't we have to do a lot to prepare for space voyages as well?
    – GuidingOlive
    Nov 19 at 18:42




    12




    12




    A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
    – vsz
    Nov 19 at 22:19




    A great answer pointing out issues many people don't consider when they think of how awesome or scary spiders are: spiders are very undeveloped and inefficient (in the terms of regulating oxygen and temperature) in comparison with mammals. I would guess that intelligent spiders would rely much more on remote probes and much less on astronauts, especially in the early stages of their space program.
    – vsz
    Nov 19 at 22:19




    13




    13




    "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
    – Rich
    Nov 19 at 23:02






    "Depending on whether or not these extra senses have survived into your modern spiders and how strong they are" Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from chimpanzees, and we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense. Compared to other mammals, we're practically cut off from the world. It's hard to imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries. IOW a suit would work just fine
    – Rich
    Nov 19 at 23:02






    8




    8




    Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
    – Solomon Slow
    Nov 20 at 22:41






    Re, "...breathe via almost all of their body." There are vertebrates that do that. There just aren't any big ones. The square-cube law says, No air-breathing animal will evolve to be four feet long without also evolving specialized organs for breathing (a.k.a., "lungs") and an active circulatory system.
    – Solomon Slow
    Nov 20 at 22:41






    7




    7




    It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
    – Wildcard
    Nov 21 at 19:49






    It's not undoable? YOU MEAN IT CAN'T BE UNDONE?! Spiders in space and we can't undo it???!!!
    – Wildcard
    Nov 21 at 19:49












    up vote
    66
    down vote













    They don't need a spacesuit just oxygen



    Warning - Video of a spider in a vacuum chamber (it walks around and lives to tell the tale).



    https://youtu.be/tA9jcIwvge0?t=243



    Judging by the video, they don't even need oxygen for a short space walk.



    In response to temperature concerns



    It really depends where in space they are. Right next to a star they would be burnt up regardless of a space-suit. Away from any stars they would be frozen solid eventually. Their spacecraft could perhaps beam infra-red at them.



    However:




    At the Earth's distance from the sun, a space thermometer with roughly
    half its surface is absorbing sunlight would register 45 degrees
    Fahrenheit.
    https://www.space.com/14719-spacekids-temperature-outer-space.html




    Also many spiders can survive temperatures below freezing.




    "...About 9% of spiders in relatively mild areas remain active
    throughout winter. These are nearly all Linyphiids who can still make
    a web
    at temperatures as low as -1°C. ..."



    https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/overwintering.html




    Bonus fact



    When they go on space-walks, because they're not enclosed in a suit, they don't have to worry about a connecting cable - they can use spider silk to hold them in the place they need to be.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 6




      That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 22:38






    • 9




      And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
      – Dewi Morgan
      Nov 19 at 22:59






    • 24




      @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
      – Austin Hemmelgarn
      Nov 20 at 0:26






    • 17




      Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
      – Draco18s
      Nov 20 at 3:10






    • 5




      GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
      – John Dvorak
      Nov 20 at 14:51















    up vote
    66
    down vote













    They don't need a spacesuit just oxygen



    Warning - Video of a spider in a vacuum chamber (it walks around and lives to tell the tale).



    https://youtu.be/tA9jcIwvge0?t=243



    Judging by the video, they don't even need oxygen for a short space walk.



    In response to temperature concerns



    It really depends where in space they are. Right next to a star they would be burnt up regardless of a space-suit. Away from any stars they would be frozen solid eventually. Their spacecraft could perhaps beam infra-red at them.



    However:




    At the Earth's distance from the sun, a space thermometer with roughly
    half its surface is absorbing sunlight would register 45 degrees
    Fahrenheit.
    https://www.space.com/14719-spacekids-temperature-outer-space.html




    Also many spiders can survive temperatures below freezing.




    "...About 9% of spiders in relatively mild areas remain active
    throughout winter. These are nearly all Linyphiids who can still make
    a web
    at temperatures as low as -1°C. ..."



    https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/overwintering.html




    Bonus fact



    When they go on space-walks, because they're not enclosed in a suit, they don't have to worry about a connecting cable - they can use spider silk to hold them in the place they need to be.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 6




      That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 22:38






    • 9




      And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
      – Dewi Morgan
      Nov 19 at 22:59






    • 24




      @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
      – Austin Hemmelgarn
      Nov 20 at 0:26






    • 17




      Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
      – Draco18s
      Nov 20 at 3:10






    • 5




      GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
      – John Dvorak
      Nov 20 at 14:51













    up vote
    66
    down vote










    up vote
    66
    down vote









    They don't need a spacesuit just oxygen



    Warning - Video of a spider in a vacuum chamber (it walks around and lives to tell the tale).



    https://youtu.be/tA9jcIwvge0?t=243



    Judging by the video, they don't even need oxygen for a short space walk.



    In response to temperature concerns



    It really depends where in space they are. Right next to a star they would be burnt up regardless of a space-suit. Away from any stars they would be frozen solid eventually. Their spacecraft could perhaps beam infra-red at them.



    However:




    At the Earth's distance from the sun, a space thermometer with roughly
    half its surface is absorbing sunlight would register 45 degrees
    Fahrenheit.
    https://www.space.com/14719-spacekids-temperature-outer-space.html




    Also many spiders can survive temperatures below freezing.




    "...About 9% of spiders in relatively mild areas remain active
    throughout winter. These are nearly all Linyphiids who can still make
    a web
    at temperatures as low as -1°C. ..."



    https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/overwintering.html




    Bonus fact



    When they go on space-walks, because they're not enclosed in a suit, they don't have to worry about a connecting cable - they can use spider silk to hold them in the place they need to be.






    share|improve this answer














    They don't need a spacesuit just oxygen



    Warning - Video of a spider in a vacuum chamber (it walks around and lives to tell the tale).



    https://youtu.be/tA9jcIwvge0?t=243



    Judging by the video, they don't even need oxygen for a short space walk.



    In response to temperature concerns



    It really depends where in space they are. Right next to a star they would be burnt up regardless of a space-suit. Away from any stars they would be frozen solid eventually. Their spacecraft could perhaps beam infra-red at them.



    However:




    At the Earth's distance from the sun, a space thermometer with roughly
    half its surface is absorbing sunlight would register 45 degrees
    Fahrenheit.
    https://www.space.com/14719-spacekids-temperature-outer-space.html




    Also many spiders can survive temperatures below freezing.




    "...About 9% of spiders in relatively mild areas remain active
    throughout winter. These are nearly all Linyphiids who can still make
    a web
    at temperatures as low as -1°C. ..."



    https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/overwintering.html




    Bonus fact



    When they go on space-walks, because they're not enclosed in a suit, they don't have to worry about a connecting cable - they can use spider silk to hold them in the place they need to be.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Nov 20 at 8:46

























    answered Nov 19 at 22:26









    chasly from UK

    9,48334594




    9,48334594








    • 6




      That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 22:38






    • 9




      And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
      – Dewi Morgan
      Nov 19 at 22:59






    • 24




      @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
      – Austin Hemmelgarn
      Nov 20 at 0:26






    • 17




      Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
      – Draco18s
      Nov 20 at 3:10






    • 5




      GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
      – John Dvorak
      Nov 20 at 14:51














    • 6




      That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
      – GuidingOlive
      Nov 19 at 22:38






    • 9




      And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
      – Dewi Morgan
      Nov 19 at 22:59






    • 24




      @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
      – Austin Hemmelgarn
      Nov 20 at 0:26






    • 17




      Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
      – Draco18s
      Nov 20 at 3:10






    • 5




      GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
      – John Dvorak
      Nov 20 at 14:51








    6




    6




    That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
    – GuidingOlive
    Nov 19 at 22:38




    That is so...not how I expected that to go. That spider didn't even freak out. He was just hanging out. Man, outside of the cold my spiders could just walk out the airlock.
    – GuidingOlive
    Nov 19 at 22:38




    9




    9




    And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:59




    And the cold isn't that cold, because unlike being pressed against ice, the only cooling effect is radiated heat, rather than conducted heat. A black spider will radiate the least possible heat.
    – Dewi Morgan
    Nov 19 at 22:59




    24




    24




    @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
    – Austin Hemmelgarn
    Nov 20 at 0:26




    @DewiMorgan No, a black spider will radiate the most possible heat. Properties that make an object good at absorbing radiation (of any kind) also make it good at emitting it, and radiant heat loss is infrared radiation.
    – Austin Hemmelgarn
    Nov 20 at 0:26




    17




    17




    Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
    – Draco18s
    Nov 20 at 3:10




    Those hairs work to keep air trapped against its body. It would suffocate eventually, but due to its size it wouldn't become an issue for something like an hour. Such structures don't scale up well, but probably not worth too much calculation.
    – Draco18s
    Nov 20 at 3:10




    5




    5




    GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
    – John Dvorak
    Nov 20 at 14:51




    GMO sentient spiders with thick fur to use as a diving bell in outer space. I'm sold. You can still put it in unpressurized suit for an oxygen refill though. Or perhaps as something to enter and leave during the space walk.
    – John Dvorak
    Nov 20 at 14:51










    up vote
    45
    down vote













    I'm going to go in a different direction here and say that instead of making a space suit, make a space pod with mechanical spider legs.



    Have an enclosed pod that the spider can sit inside with legs folded and have mechanical arms/legs that support the pod and allow it to walk around. For simplicity, the pod could have 4 or 6 legs, but there could also be different pods for different jobs with a variety of legs or attachments.



    This has the benefit of looking like a spider suit, but doesn't have any of the complexity of trying to allow them to use their own legs.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 8




      A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
      – Mr Lister
      Nov 20 at 18:24






    • 8




      +1 for thinking inside the pod.
      – BentNielsen
      Nov 20 at 21:45










    • See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
      – Christopher Hostage
      Nov 21 at 22:42






    • 1




      Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
      – Caius Jard
      Nov 22 at 16:56










    • @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
      – JPhi1618
      Nov 23 at 15:17















    up vote
    45
    down vote













    I'm going to go in a different direction here and say that instead of making a space suit, make a space pod with mechanical spider legs.



    Have an enclosed pod that the spider can sit inside with legs folded and have mechanical arms/legs that support the pod and allow it to walk around. For simplicity, the pod could have 4 or 6 legs, but there could also be different pods for different jobs with a variety of legs or attachments.



    This has the benefit of looking like a spider suit, but doesn't have any of the complexity of trying to allow them to use their own legs.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 8




      A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
      – Mr Lister
      Nov 20 at 18:24






    • 8




      +1 for thinking inside the pod.
      – BentNielsen
      Nov 20 at 21:45










    • See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
      – Christopher Hostage
      Nov 21 at 22:42






    • 1




      Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
      – Caius Jard
      Nov 22 at 16:56










    • @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
      – JPhi1618
      Nov 23 at 15:17













    up vote
    45
    down vote










    up vote
    45
    down vote









    I'm going to go in a different direction here and say that instead of making a space suit, make a space pod with mechanical spider legs.



    Have an enclosed pod that the spider can sit inside with legs folded and have mechanical arms/legs that support the pod and allow it to walk around. For simplicity, the pod could have 4 or 6 legs, but there could also be different pods for different jobs with a variety of legs or attachments.



    This has the benefit of looking like a spider suit, but doesn't have any of the complexity of trying to allow them to use their own legs.






    share|improve this answer












    I'm going to go in a different direction here and say that instead of making a space suit, make a space pod with mechanical spider legs.



    Have an enclosed pod that the spider can sit inside with legs folded and have mechanical arms/legs that support the pod and allow it to walk around. For simplicity, the pod could have 4 or 6 legs, but there could also be different pods for different jobs with a variety of legs or attachments.



    This has the benefit of looking like a spider suit, but doesn't have any of the complexity of trying to allow them to use their own legs.







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered Nov 19 at 21:56









    JPhi1618

    55336




    55336








    • 8




      A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
      – Mr Lister
      Nov 20 at 18:24






    • 8




      +1 for thinking inside the pod.
      – BentNielsen
      Nov 20 at 21:45










    • See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
      – Christopher Hostage
      Nov 21 at 22:42






    • 1




      Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
      – Caius Jard
      Nov 22 at 16:56










    • @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
      – JPhi1618
      Nov 23 at 15:17














    • 8




      A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
      – Mr Lister
      Nov 20 at 18:24






    • 8




      +1 for thinking inside the pod.
      – BentNielsen
      Nov 20 at 21:45










    • See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
      – Christopher Hostage
      Nov 21 at 22:42






    • 1




      Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
      – Caius Jard
      Nov 22 at 16:56










    • @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
      – JPhi1618
      Nov 23 at 15:17








    8




    8




    A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
    – Mr Lister
    Nov 20 at 18:24




    A spider-mecha! And with an actual giant spider riding it! I'm sold.
    – Mr Lister
    Nov 20 at 18:24




    8




    8




    +1 for thinking inside the pod.
    – BentNielsen
    Nov 20 at 21:45




    +1 for thinking inside the pod.
    – BentNielsen
    Nov 20 at 21:45












    See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
    – Christopher Hostage
    Nov 21 at 22:42




    See Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" for a human-suit on the same principle. The most difficult part of the pressurized suit, the hands, was handled by having mechanical fingers outside of a sealed spherical shell. The human stays comfortable and unencumbered on the inside, and pushes/pulls fingers through lever action. It loses dexterity and individual joint control, but is much easier to manufacture and repair.
    – Christopher Hostage
    Nov 21 at 22:42




    1




    1




    Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
    – Caius Jard
    Nov 22 at 16:56




    Do you think they'd fashion a pod in their own image? I know Ripley drives a loader in Aliens, and it looks like a hydraulic human.. But would the spiders necessarily build a spider shaped loader?
    – Caius Jard
    Nov 22 at 16:56












    @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
    – JPhi1618
    Nov 23 at 15:17




    @CaiusJard I think it would be roughly in their image because it would be intuitive to design and pilot. Of course it could look like anything. Pod based is versatile like that.
    – JPhi1618
    Nov 23 at 15:17










    up vote
    17
    down vote













    Hamster ball



    Photo of a white hamster in a transparent green plastic hamster ball



    A hamster-ball for spiders allows them to breathe through their body, and move around by rolling like a hamster in a ball. Of course a simple plastic ball wouldn't allow much work to be done, but a high-tech ball could have various mechanical appendages to perform any work a space spider needs to do.






    share|improve this answer























    • +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
      – Zimano
      Nov 22 at 15:04






    • 1




      Wrecking Ball online!
      – Code Whisperer
      Nov 23 at 12:38















    up vote
    17
    down vote













    Hamster ball



    Photo of a white hamster in a transparent green plastic hamster ball



    A hamster-ball for spiders allows them to breathe through their body, and move around by rolling like a hamster in a ball. Of course a simple plastic ball wouldn't allow much work to be done, but a high-tech ball could have various mechanical appendages to perform any work a space spider needs to do.






    share|improve this answer























    • +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
      – Zimano
      Nov 22 at 15:04






    • 1




      Wrecking Ball online!
      – Code Whisperer
      Nov 23 at 12:38













    up vote
    17
    down vote










    up vote
    17
    down vote









    Hamster ball



    Photo of a white hamster in a transparent green plastic hamster ball



    A hamster-ball for spiders allows them to breathe through their body, and move around by rolling like a hamster in a ball. Of course a simple plastic ball wouldn't allow much work to be done, but a high-tech ball could have various mechanical appendages to perform any work a space spider needs to do.






    share|improve this answer














    Hamster ball



    Photo of a white hamster in a transparent green plastic hamster ball



    A hamster-ball for spiders allows them to breathe through their body, and move around by rolling like a hamster in a ball. Of course a simple plastic ball wouldn't allow much work to be done, but a high-tech ball could have various mechanical appendages to perform any work a space spider needs to do.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Nov 25 at 4:43









    Basil Bourque

    1033




    1033










    answered Nov 20 at 13:35









    Samuel Lapointe

    1714




    1714












    • +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
      – Zimano
      Nov 22 at 15:04






    • 1




      Wrecking Ball online!
      – Code Whisperer
      Nov 23 at 12:38


















    • +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
      – Zimano
      Nov 22 at 15:04






    • 1




      Wrecking Ball online!
      – Code Whisperer
      Nov 23 at 12:38
















    +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
    – Zimano
    Nov 22 at 15:04




    +1, first thing that came to my mind too!
    – Zimano
    Nov 22 at 15:04




    1




    1




    Wrecking Ball online!
    – Code Whisperer
    Nov 23 at 12:38




    Wrecking Ball online!
    – Code Whisperer
    Nov 23 at 12:38










    up vote
    10
    down vote













    Tarantulas have retractable claws, similar to that of a cat, so it won't be a far stretch to think a spider could use these claws to fit a suit on.



    Tarantulas have a respiratory system that uses book lungs to process oxygen. Tarantulas process oxygen at extremely low rates.



    The hairs, or urticating bristles, are a defensive mechanism, early warning system(think Spidey Senses) and even a survival mechanism(some tarantulas use these bristles to create an air bubble around them, giving them potentially hours under water without the need to resurface for air).



    Tarantulas are generally measured in diagonal leg span(from the tip of the front leg to the tip of the opposing rear leg).



    Tarantulas generally become less active in the cold. Often not eating or drinking for months, or possibly years at a time.



    Looking for videos of "tarantula molting" might give you some ideas how they could get the suit on/off. Molting is the process of shedding the old skin.



    With all the above information in mind you will need to consider;
    Are the suits needed for short space walks or would the Tarantulas be wearing them semi-permanently? This will determine if the suit needs air, heat and durability to elements).



    I would design a suit where the only opening would be on the under side of the Tarantuals carapace. Allowing the Tarantula to fit it/remove it in a similar process to how it would molt. The fabric should allow the bristles to 'poke' out. The suit should retain warmth and small amounts of oxygen.






    share|improve this answer

























      up vote
      10
      down vote













      Tarantulas have retractable claws, similar to that of a cat, so it won't be a far stretch to think a spider could use these claws to fit a suit on.



      Tarantulas have a respiratory system that uses book lungs to process oxygen. Tarantulas process oxygen at extremely low rates.



      The hairs, or urticating bristles, are a defensive mechanism, early warning system(think Spidey Senses) and even a survival mechanism(some tarantulas use these bristles to create an air bubble around them, giving them potentially hours under water without the need to resurface for air).



      Tarantulas are generally measured in diagonal leg span(from the tip of the front leg to the tip of the opposing rear leg).



      Tarantulas generally become less active in the cold. Often not eating or drinking for months, or possibly years at a time.



      Looking for videos of "tarantula molting" might give you some ideas how they could get the suit on/off. Molting is the process of shedding the old skin.



      With all the above information in mind you will need to consider;
      Are the suits needed for short space walks or would the Tarantulas be wearing them semi-permanently? This will determine if the suit needs air, heat and durability to elements).



      I would design a suit where the only opening would be on the under side of the Tarantuals carapace. Allowing the Tarantula to fit it/remove it in a similar process to how it would molt. The fabric should allow the bristles to 'poke' out. The suit should retain warmth and small amounts of oxygen.






      share|improve this answer























        up vote
        10
        down vote










        up vote
        10
        down vote









        Tarantulas have retractable claws, similar to that of a cat, so it won't be a far stretch to think a spider could use these claws to fit a suit on.



        Tarantulas have a respiratory system that uses book lungs to process oxygen. Tarantulas process oxygen at extremely low rates.



        The hairs, or urticating bristles, are a defensive mechanism, early warning system(think Spidey Senses) and even a survival mechanism(some tarantulas use these bristles to create an air bubble around them, giving them potentially hours under water without the need to resurface for air).



        Tarantulas are generally measured in diagonal leg span(from the tip of the front leg to the tip of the opposing rear leg).



        Tarantulas generally become less active in the cold. Often not eating or drinking for months, or possibly years at a time.



        Looking for videos of "tarantula molting" might give you some ideas how they could get the suit on/off. Molting is the process of shedding the old skin.



        With all the above information in mind you will need to consider;
        Are the suits needed for short space walks or would the Tarantulas be wearing them semi-permanently? This will determine if the suit needs air, heat and durability to elements).



        I would design a suit where the only opening would be on the under side of the Tarantuals carapace. Allowing the Tarantula to fit it/remove it in a similar process to how it would molt. The fabric should allow the bristles to 'poke' out. The suit should retain warmth and small amounts of oxygen.






        share|improve this answer












        Tarantulas have retractable claws, similar to that of a cat, so it won't be a far stretch to think a spider could use these claws to fit a suit on.



        Tarantulas have a respiratory system that uses book lungs to process oxygen. Tarantulas process oxygen at extremely low rates.



        The hairs, or urticating bristles, are a defensive mechanism, early warning system(think Spidey Senses) and even a survival mechanism(some tarantulas use these bristles to create an air bubble around them, giving them potentially hours under water without the need to resurface for air).



        Tarantulas are generally measured in diagonal leg span(from the tip of the front leg to the tip of the opposing rear leg).



        Tarantulas generally become less active in the cold. Often not eating or drinking for months, or possibly years at a time.



        Looking for videos of "tarantula molting" might give you some ideas how they could get the suit on/off. Molting is the process of shedding the old skin.



        With all the above information in mind you will need to consider;
        Are the suits needed for short space walks or would the Tarantulas be wearing them semi-permanently? This will determine if the suit needs air, heat and durability to elements).



        I would design a suit where the only opening would be on the under side of the Tarantuals carapace. Allowing the Tarantula to fit it/remove it in a similar process to how it would molt. The fabric should allow the bristles to 'poke' out. The suit should retain warmth and small amounts of oxygen.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered Nov 20 at 13:11









        BossRoss

        2013




        2013






















            up vote
            8
            down vote













            Technically, there are two main challenges with space suits.



            1) Keep them loose enough and yet tight enough. Human limbs have bulgy muscles and such, to too tight and it's awfully uncomfortable. Platemail or plastic tubes wouldn't really work. For something that has an exoskeleton, this isn't a big deal, you're just duplicating that, essentially making the exoskeleton thicker.



            2) Joints. Again, this is a challenge, but not too hard. Unlike with humans, all joints in a spider are relatively simple. There are two types: ball-and-socket, and hinge. Hinge (all the knees) are the simplest possible joints in engineering terms, but ball-and-socket (where legs join to body) are a ginormous pain in the ass in every imaginable engineering aspect.



            Not impossible, just so prone to failure. Rather than a ball and socket, probably best to make two hinge joins in a chain, at rightangles to each other. Almost as good as a regular hinge, with most of the advantage of a ball and socket.



            [Edit: it has been pointed out to me that arthropods don't have ball-and-socket, anywhere. They all do the two-hinged-joints thing everywhere, already, as I should have remembered from seeing crabs-legs. This makes exoskeletons insanely easy!]



            So what it should end up like, is basically just a second skin. Spiders and other arthropods are already accustomed to wearing second skins, and are used to getting out of them, as we see here:



            https://i.imgur.com/9K95I6E.gifv






            share|improve this answer



















            • 4




              Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 4:00






            • 1




              @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
              – Anton Sherwood
              Nov 20 at 5:49






            • 2




              @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 15:33






            • 1




              Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
              – Lightness Races in Orbit
              Nov 21 at 13:49






            • 1




              @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
              – Dewi Morgan
              Nov 26 at 21:53















            up vote
            8
            down vote













            Technically, there are two main challenges with space suits.



            1) Keep them loose enough and yet tight enough. Human limbs have bulgy muscles and such, to too tight and it's awfully uncomfortable. Platemail or plastic tubes wouldn't really work. For something that has an exoskeleton, this isn't a big deal, you're just duplicating that, essentially making the exoskeleton thicker.



            2) Joints. Again, this is a challenge, but not too hard. Unlike with humans, all joints in a spider are relatively simple. There are two types: ball-and-socket, and hinge. Hinge (all the knees) are the simplest possible joints in engineering terms, but ball-and-socket (where legs join to body) are a ginormous pain in the ass in every imaginable engineering aspect.



            Not impossible, just so prone to failure. Rather than a ball and socket, probably best to make two hinge joins in a chain, at rightangles to each other. Almost as good as a regular hinge, with most of the advantage of a ball and socket.



            [Edit: it has been pointed out to me that arthropods don't have ball-and-socket, anywhere. They all do the two-hinged-joints thing everywhere, already, as I should have remembered from seeing crabs-legs. This makes exoskeletons insanely easy!]



            So what it should end up like, is basically just a second skin. Spiders and other arthropods are already accustomed to wearing second skins, and are used to getting out of them, as we see here:



            https://i.imgur.com/9K95I6E.gifv






            share|improve this answer



















            • 4




              Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 4:00






            • 1




              @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
              – Anton Sherwood
              Nov 20 at 5:49






            • 2




              @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 15:33






            • 1




              Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
              – Lightness Races in Orbit
              Nov 21 at 13:49






            • 1




              @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
              – Dewi Morgan
              Nov 26 at 21:53













            up vote
            8
            down vote










            up vote
            8
            down vote









            Technically, there are two main challenges with space suits.



            1) Keep them loose enough and yet tight enough. Human limbs have bulgy muscles and such, to too tight and it's awfully uncomfortable. Platemail or plastic tubes wouldn't really work. For something that has an exoskeleton, this isn't a big deal, you're just duplicating that, essentially making the exoskeleton thicker.



            2) Joints. Again, this is a challenge, but not too hard. Unlike with humans, all joints in a spider are relatively simple. There are two types: ball-and-socket, and hinge. Hinge (all the knees) are the simplest possible joints in engineering terms, but ball-and-socket (where legs join to body) are a ginormous pain in the ass in every imaginable engineering aspect.



            Not impossible, just so prone to failure. Rather than a ball and socket, probably best to make two hinge joins in a chain, at rightangles to each other. Almost as good as a regular hinge, with most of the advantage of a ball and socket.



            [Edit: it has been pointed out to me that arthropods don't have ball-and-socket, anywhere. They all do the two-hinged-joints thing everywhere, already, as I should have remembered from seeing crabs-legs. This makes exoskeletons insanely easy!]



            So what it should end up like, is basically just a second skin. Spiders and other arthropods are already accustomed to wearing second skins, and are used to getting out of them, as we see here:



            https://i.imgur.com/9K95I6E.gifv






            share|improve this answer














            Technically, there are two main challenges with space suits.



            1) Keep them loose enough and yet tight enough. Human limbs have bulgy muscles and such, to too tight and it's awfully uncomfortable. Platemail or plastic tubes wouldn't really work. For something that has an exoskeleton, this isn't a big deal, you're just duplicating that, essentially making the exoskeleton thicker.



            2) Joints. Again, this is a challenge, but not too hard. Unlike with humans, all joints in a spider are relatively simple. There are two types: ball-and-socket, and hinge. Hinge (all the knees) are the simplest possible joints in engineering terms, but ball-and-socket (where legs join to body) are a ginormous pain in the ass in every imaginable engineering aspect.



            Not impossible, just so prone to failure. Rather than a ball and socket, probably best to make two hinge joins in a chain, at rightangles to each other. Almost as good as a regular hinge, with most of the advantage of a ball and socket.



            [Edit: it has been pointed out to me that arthropods don't have ball-and-socket, anywhere. They all do the two-hinged-joints thing everywhere, already, as I should have remembered from seeing crabs-legs. This makes exoskeletons insanely easy!]



            So what it should end up like, is basically just a second skin. Spiders and other arthropods are already accustomed to wearing second skins, and are used to getting out of them, as we see here:



            https://i.imgur.com/9K95I6E.gifv







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Nov 28 at 15:49

























            answered Nov 20 at 3:17









            Dewi Morgan

            4,604932




            4,604932








            • 4




              Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 4:00






            • 1




              @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
              – Anton Sherwood
              Nov 20 at 5:49






            • 2




              @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 15:33






            • 1




              Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
              – Lightness Races in Orbit
              Nov 21 at 13:49






            • 1




              @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
              – Dewi Morgan
              Nov 26 at 21:53














            • 4




              Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 4:00






            • 1




              @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
              – Anton Sherwood
              Nov 20 at 5:49






            • 2




              @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
              – Logan R. Kearsley
              Nov 20 at 15:33






            • 1




              Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
              – Lightness Races in Orbit
              Nov 21 at 13:49






            • 1




              @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
              – Dewi Morgan
              Nov 26 at 21:53








            4




            4




            Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
            – Logan R. Kearsley
            Nov 20 at 4:00




            Two hinge joints in a chain is in fact exactly what real spiders actually have for their "hips" (as well as insects and crustaceans).
            – Logan R. Kearsley
            Nov 20 at 4:00




            1




            1




            @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
            – Anton Sherwood
            Nov 20 at 5:49




            @LoganR.Kearsley Do some arthropods have other arrangements?
            – Anton Sherwood
            Nov 20 at 5:49




            2




            2




            @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
            – Logan R. Kearsley
            Nov 20 at 15:33




            @AntonSherwood I am not entirely certain. I would suspect not, but I haven't been able to find any scholarly references that specifically address the subject, or sufficiently high resolution photos of, e.g., centipede leg joints, to be sure. Re: insects and crustaceans, the relevant info is practically trivial to come by: just go order a lobster or crab legs at a seafood restaurant, or catch a big grasshopper in your yard to inspect. It's a little harder to get one's hands on a sufficiently large centipede for the structure to be easily naked-eye visible, and I'm not sure I'd want to....
            – Logan R. Kearsley
            Nov 20 at 15:33




            1




            1




            Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
            – Lightness Races in Orbit
            Nov 21 at 13:49




            Oof, I so wasn't prepared for that video
            – Lightness Races in Orbit
            Nov 21 at 13:49




            1




            1




            @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
            – Dewi Morgan
            Nov 26 at 21:53




            @LightnessRacesinOrbit I admit I was worried myself, that the spider might be in pain or shedding the skin as a reaction to poison: I was very grateful for the shot at the end of it standing upright and fully recovered :)
            – Dewi Morgan
            Nov 26 at 21:53










            up vote
            6
            down vote













            You need to step back for an easier "in". I said in my comment to @Joe Bloggs's answer:




            Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape
            cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from
            chimpanzees, and [by comparison] we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or
            hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense.



            Compared to other
            mammals, we're practically cut off from the world.



            It's hard to
            imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with
            senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries.




            To answer the question based on that evolutionary assumption, then, you need to answer some questions about what these spiders look like, and how they feel about nakedness. I'm not talking homburg hats and four pair of Docs, but do they have any form of clothing? What are the names of the garments?



            Anyway, to practical matters:




            • Their hairy legs can be practically bald; and wearing a suit would only be as irritating as wearing socks in bed is for me, i.e. a little bit, nothing like unbearable or overwhelming. Sure, let's say they might need to put on some form of undergarment for protection.

            • Their elbow/knee ears could be fed audio communications, designed into the suit, or the undergarment.

            • Multiple eyes could be used for different purposes, assuming the minor pairs haven't atrophied by evolution.

            • Breathing wouldn't be an issue. Spiders and other arachnids breathe through a book lung. Human space suits are pressurized. (If you have gas, you're breathing that back in.) I would assume that spider space suits would also be pressurized. The book lung of the space spider could also have seen modest evolutionary improvements to increase the airflow.


            Everyday clothing is going to be your clue for how to talk about the different components of space suits, and what limitations they might impose on the wearer.



            There is also the problem of the spiders' home atmosphere composition. Earth's has changed over the aeons, so sure, pick something. Maybe "they need more oxygen" which is fine because "they're super-strong". Just make your excuses and run with them. Don't necessarily declare them to the reader, unless they need to know world/space mechanics.



            A couple of objections raised by others to my comment elsewhere:




            1. the human sense of smell may be physically as good as that of dogs, but just out of practice


            2. humans can feel surface bumps which are just 13nm high







            share|improve this answer



















            • 2




              Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
              – Geronimo
              Nov 22 at 0:30










            • @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
              – Rich
              Nov 27 at 17:13















            up vote
            6
            down vote













            You need to step back for an easier "in". I said in my comment to @Joe Bloggs's answer:




            Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape
            cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from
            chimpanzees, and [by comparison] we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or
            hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense.



            Compared to other
            mammals, we're practically cut off from the world.



            It's hard to
            imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with
            senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries.




            To answer the question based on that evolutionary assumption, then, you need to answer some questions about what these spiders look like, and how they feel about nakedness. I'm not talking homburg hats and four pair of Docs, but do they have any form of clothing? What are the names of the garments?



            Anyway, to practical matters:




            • Their hairy legs can be practically bald; and wearing a suit would only be as irritating as wearing socks in bed is for me, i.e. a little bit, nothing like unbearable or overwhelming. Sure, let's say they might need to put on some form of undergarment for protection.

            • Their elbow/knee ears could be fed audio communications, designed into the suit, or the undergarment.

            • Multiple eyes could be used for different purposes, assuming the minor pairs haven't atrophied by evolution.

            • Breathing wouldn't be an issue. Spiders and other arachnids breathe through a book lung. Human space suits are pressurized. (If you have gas, you're breathing that back in.) I would assume that spider space suits would also be pressurized. The book lung of the space spider could also have seen modest evolutionary improvements to increase the airflow.


            Everyday clothing is going to be your clue for how to talk about the different components of space suits, and what limitations they might impose on the wearer.



            There is also the problem of the spiders' home atmosphere composition. Earth's has changed over the aeons, so sure, pick something. Maybe "they need more oxygen" which is fine because "they're super-strong". Just make your excuses and run with them. Don't necessarily declare them to the reader, unless they need to know world/space mechanics.



            A couple of objections raised by others to my comment elsewhere:




            1. the human sense of smell may be physically as good as that of dogs, but just out of practice


            2. humans can feel surface bumps which are just 13nm high







            share|improve this answer



















            • 2




              Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
              – Geronimo
              Nov 22 at 0:30










            • @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
              – Rich
              Nov 27 at 17:13













            up vote
            6
            down vote










            up vote
            6
            down vote









            You need to step back for an easier "in". I said in my comment to @Joe Bloggs's answer:




            Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape
            cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from
            chimpanzees, and [by comparison] we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or
            hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense.



            Compared to other
            mammals, we're practically cut off from the world.



            It's hard to
            imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with
            senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries.




            To answer the question based on that evolutionary assumption, then, you need to answer some questions about what these spiders look like, and how they feel about nakedness. I'm not talking homburg hats and four pair of Docs, but do they have any form of clothing? What are the names of the garments?



            Anyway, to practical matters:




            • Their hairy legs can be practically bald; and wearing a suit would only be as irritating as wearing socks in bed is for me, i.e. a little bit, nothing like unbearable or overwhelming. Sure, let's say they might need to put on some form of undergarment for protection.

            • Their elbow/knee ears could be fed audio communications, designed into the suit, or the undergarment.

            • Multiple eyes could be used for different purposes, assuming the minor pairs haven't atrophied by evolution.

            • Breathing wouldn't be an issue. Spiders and other arachnids breathe through a book lung. Human space suits are pressurized. (If you have gas, you're breathing that back in.) I would assume that spider space suits would also be pressurized. The book lung of the space spider could also have seen modest evolutionary improvements to increase the airflow.


            Everyday clothing is going to be your clue for how to talk about the different components of space suits, and what limitations they might impose on the wearer.



            There is also the problem of the spiders' home atmosphere composition. Earth's has changed over the aeons, so sure, pick something. Maybe "they need more oxygen" which is fine because "they're super-strong". Just make your excuses and run with them. Don't necessarily declare them to the reader, unless they need to know world/space mechanics.



            A couple of objections raised by others to my comment elsewhere:




            1. the human sense of smell may be physically as good as that of dogs, but just out of practice


            2. humans can feel surface bumps which are just 13nm high







            share|improve this answer














            You need to step back for an easier "in". I said in my comment to @Joe Bloggs's answer:




            Based on how "dull" modern humans' senses are in comparison to our ape
            cousins, I'm gonna say no. We're not even all that far from
            chimpanzees, and [by comparison] we have hardly any sense of touch, smell, taste, or
            hearing. Sight is the only comparable sense.



            Compared to other
            mammals, we're practically cut off from the world.



            It's hard to
            imagine a technologically advanced spider being just as endowed with
            senses as its more primitive ancestors and contemporaries.




            To answer the question based on that evolutionary assumption, then, you need to answer some questions about what these spiders look like, and how they feel about nakedness. I'm not talking homburg hats and four pair of Docs, but do they have any form of clothing? What are the names of the garments?



            Anyway, to practical matters:




            • Their hairy legs can be practically bald; and wearing a suit would only be as irritating as wearing socks in bed is for me, i.e. a little bit, nothing like unbearable or overwhelming. Sure, let's say they might need to put on some form of undergarment for protection.

            • Their elbow/knee ears could be fed audio communications, designed into the suit, or the undergarment.

            • Multiple eyes could be used for different purposes, assuming the minor pairs haven't atrophied by evolution.

            • Breathing wouldn't be an issue. Spiders and other arachnids breathe through a book lung. Human space suits are pressurized. (If you have gas, you're breathing that back in.) I would assume that spider space suits would also be pressurized. The book lung of the space spider could also have seen modest evolutionary improvements to increase the airflow.


            Everyday clothing is going to be your clue for how to talk about the different components of space suits, and what limitations they might impose on the wearer.



            There is also the problem of the spiders' home atmosphere composition. Earth's has changed over the aeons, so sure, pick something. Maybe "they need more oxygen" which is fine because "they're super-strong". Just make your excuses and run with them. Don't necessarily declare them to the reader, unless they need to know world/space mechanics.



            A couple of objections raised by others to my comment elsewhere:




            1. the human sense of smell may be physically as good as that of dogs, but just out of practice


            2. humans can feel surface bumps which are just 13nm high








            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Nov 27 at 17:20

























            answered Nov 19 at 23:39









            Rich

            1915




            1915








            • 2




              Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
              – Geronimo
              Nov 22 at 0:30










            • @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
              – Rich
              Nov 27 at 17:13














            • 2




              Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
              – Geronimo
              Nov 22 at 0:30










            • @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
              – Rich
              Nov 27 at 17:13








            2




            2




            Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
            – Geronimo
            Nov 22 at 0:30




            Also, does this sapient spider breathes by the pores in the skin or has something like a lung? I have a hard time accepting an environment that favors respiration by the skin and not respiration by lungs. Even a high-oxygen atmosphere would benefit lung users more the ones that breath thru the skin. And intelligence is very demanding when it comes to oxygen.
            – Geronimo
            Nov 22 at 0:30












            @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
            – Rich
            Nov 27 at 17:13




            @Geronimo I believe the question was raised with the idea that they would be just large spiders; i.e. no evolutionary innovations like lungs. I think most of the people providing content on this page did so from "high school knowledge", i.e., incomplete. Arachnids actually have an organ called a book lung. -- I'll add this fact to my answer.
            – Rich
            Nov 27 at 17:13


















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