The Secret Lore of Kerbal Space Programme 

You forgot that some fans depict the Kerbals having a popular video game called “Human Space Program” as a comedic parody of the game they are in.

We actually know they don't live underground - when you do experiments in Grasslands biomes, they say "I think I can see my house from here!"

Knowing that KSP was originally meant to have lore, someone should really turn this into a mod. I really wanna have a mod that adds this mysterious, far out planet, and makes me chase transmitters all across the Kerbol system.

KSP’s lore is very simple: Kerbals have always been there. Always have been, always will be.

Kerbals living underground certainly explains how their big eyes, why they seem unphased by being trapped in tiny spaceships for years, and how the Mün’s discovery ‘didn’t happen all that long ago’. Seems inconsistent with the idea they’re plants since there’s no sunlight down there, though it certainly is consistent with them being fungi.

I read somewhere that the reason Kerbal's are described as bad-ass, apart from their happy-go-lucky 'fly or die trying' attitude, is because their skin tone is based around the hex-code #bada55. Not sure how true or lore-worthy this is, just thought I'd mention it 😁 Great video though 👍

There’s actually a set of mods that expands the games lore. There are 3 mods all made by Linx. I can’t find the name of the first 2 mods but the story went something like this: In the first mod it states that Kerbals actually started on Eve, but their wrecked the planet and forced them to escape to Kerbin. Then the stock game takes place. In the second mod Kerbol (the system’s star) starts to die causing Kerbin to become inhabitable with everyone escaping to Duna. Eventually the Kerbals are forced to leave the system leading to the third mod; Beyond Home. I should note that the planets have different names per mod and that the Kerbal’s technology is set back to square one every time they run.

If Kerbins would live underground wouldn't they contradict that they are sone kind of plant using photosynthesis? There's no sunlight underground. Maybe they aren't using photosynthesis but radiosynthesis (i.e ionizing electromagnetic radioation). Using the decay of radioactive material like uranium as food underground and the radioactive radiation of Kerbol (Sun) in space. Radiosynthesis is a thing in mushrooms.

Also, don’t forget their ability to warp time, with Revert to Launch and Time/Physics Warp, and their resurrection ability after smashing into a planet or moon

Here's a bit of information to add: The Kerbin Grasslands' Crew report says "I think I can see my house from here." I think they do have houses, just so sparsely scattered around the biome.

Well, the lore I have for the game is as follows: A dying species created the kerbals, like very recently, and that's why they are, well, stupid. This species delved into genetic manipulation and can no longer survive using their bodies, so they transferred their minds to a very advanced computer, and from there they send commands to the kerbals via the monoliths (that's why there's one near the KSP), and they instruct them on how to build rockets and other things. The plan is to eventually perfect the kerbals and use them as vessels to find a new planet to colonize and transfer their minds into them, but before doing so, they need to do research on how resilient they are, and that's why they can survive for so long without water and food. You, the player, are one of these beings, and whenever you build a ship, you're sending them commands to build the ship for you. That's my take on this.

4:18 I don't personally buy the "underground" explanation, for two main reasons: 1) it conflicts with the photosynthesis hypothesis, which has been all but confirmed 2) it's implied that they live in the grasslands, since when you do a crew report while flying low over Kerbin's grasslands, you get the message "Hey, I can see my house from here!"

In ksp's tutorial and 'story' mode there's a Kerbal named Kerman Von Braun, whose name mimics Wernher von Braun, a nazi scientist who was later part of NASA after operation paperclip You know where I'm going with this

This is really good! I would definitely recommend this to some of my kerbal obsessed friends!

Kerbals do have an uncanny colouration of lichen. And Lichen can survive almost everywhere as long as they have some moisture and sunlight.

Fun fact: The game was actually supposed to have FNAF-levels of lore (For anyone that doesn't know the FNAF lore, its as deep as Mariana trench), however one of the main developers left the game in 2013 due to personal reasons, so all were left with is that Kerbals are some funni sentient walking plants able to do photosynthesis and are really curious about space.

So, they get their energy from the sun, but live underground. Makes sense...

Might consider an update with the latest videos hinting at an actual official lore in the sequel. From hidden messages in their youtube videos depicting strange beings, to stargates recently unveiled on the moon in a patch a few days ago.

I am amazed at the amount of unseen (for me) footage you've got! That's really cool!

The Mamooth (or some other huge engine) description says it has enough power for a small city so cities do exist there somewhere...

WE NEED MOAR LOREEE

I'm so glad you mentioned that original story, it would have been so fun if it was finished and would have had an actual incentive to visit every planet.

holy jesus is this video underrated. Really good stuff.

Great video!

My personal lore is that they live underground, and have a relatively human like life. Big cities, small towns, villages. But it could also be like fallout with vaults.

My personal lore is: haha green frog go boom

"A hidden deep dark lore about funny goofy buddies", this is like murder mystery but with cute ducks and adorable little kittens XP

that image of the 4 pre-kerbals sends a chill down my spine great video

Fun video! I learnt so much! Kerbals are fungas or mold or plants and live off sunlight/starlight. Kerbals live underground like Dwarves.

They should put the precursor home world in ksp 2 because then we'll have the means to get there

My head cannon is that they are gigantic humanoid bacterias . It gives them efficient metabolism allowing to shrink the digestive system yet slow one forcing them to compensate it with bigger brains .

hopefully they add more lore in ksp 2

"Door Monster" has a series of episodes ... even pulled Scott Manley into one. There are also a lot of fan made movies.

KSP Lore but my version (this is just a joke). Kerbals, dumb and clumsy try to make it to space! They try but then fail after fail after fail. Kerbals knew that there was something beyond Kerbin, something better. But every time they got somewhere, either a dumb employee or a clumsy move caused the entire mission to fail. They needed someone who knew more about rocket science than they did. So, we decided to come in and help. The Kerbals built a space center for us, but it was pretty bad. So as we did the contracts they wanted us to do, we upgraded the space center. After exploring more parts of Kerbin and seeing what was beyond Kerbin, we decided to do some trolling. We failed a lot of the missions and tried to launch some Kerbals out of the solar system (Kerbals liked it tho for some odd reason) and we even made some Kerbals stranded out in space. Then we restarted and started a new game. Welp, that was fun. Ima go play KSP and sacrifice another Kerbal. Cya!

The new update may actually be building on this lore

This is the video I need.

I think they do live under ground, but I think that the only reason kerbin is devoid of any buildings is because they evolved underground, because of their short stature and funny walk is because they are not used to walking directly upright, no I’m not saying that they are walking on all fours but I do think they were at least used to crouch walking, making them look more weird walking upright, but I think the green skin might be because of living underground and probably eating roots and greens when they were primitive ground hobbits, caused their skin to shift from whatever other color to the funniest shade of green.

Nice work

well, them hinting at a planet beyond Eeloo makes this video so much better

Calling kernels dumb or reckless is exactly the sentiment that made ksp2 trash at launch. They aren't reckless and dumb, they're careful and highly intelligent, we are making them do reckless and dumb things. The exceptional performance of their rockets with very little technical failure is proof of their carefulness, and their technological advancements being further than our own is proof enough that they're highly intelligent.

Right before watching this an ad played and it was about kerbal space program 2

One personal lore I have when I play the game is that all the kerbals are related and they all know each other because their family. Thats why they all have kerman as their last name. So when they fly with each other its really just siblings exploring the solar system

The pre-cursor civilization was Laythe; it got pushed out to jool

I'm looking for the forum post that talks about the cut storyline, where did you find it?

Judging by the strange new construction on the mun, I would guess we are getting that precursor plot line after all in KSP 2

I swear that everything has lore, literally everything

Never knew there was lore tbh. Very interesting

that "mysterious monolith in a hidden world" had a couple of My Little Ponies standing in front of it. Even this video researched partially through Easter eggs has itself, some Easter eggs.

There's been a few new additions to the KSP system as of late, including the mun arch, and....something on Dres, one of the experiments returned another...interesting result.

you missed all the part descriptions. there's a lot of stuff in there.

they're like the orks but instead of screaming WAAAGH they scream SPAAACE

ksp 2 has come out and your right about the precursors of the kerbals

my favorite ester egg is the sputnik crash site , but i don't remember any mysterious signals and cant find anything with google ?

you should revisit this, as the ksp 2 and 1.12.5 reveals have strengthened the loor

I read somewhere that Kerbals were descended from crustaceans, and that they eag rocks and ore, sparingly

yeah, i love Kerbal Space Programme

Please i just want to know where you got these kerbal animations

My headcanon regarding Kerbals is this: Personality: Kerbals are friendly and optimistic creatures that also exhibit a childlike innocence and curiosity even into their senior years. This has served them well as they have become a civilization capable of spaceflight mostly through trial and error. They are generally pacifists but will defend themselves or others only if absolutely necessary. Religion: Their main religious belief is basically deism though some believe in a legendary entity known as the Kracken which is an invisible, mischievous creature that sabotages spacecraft and aircraft. History: The Kerbal's attempts at spaceflight have stretched back centuries. When they discovered gunpowder they then figured out rocketry and began making upper atmospheric flights within a decade. A few hundred years later they discovered how to make liquid fueled engines. These first rockets ran on paraffin oil and nitrous oxide and later liquid oxygen and kerosene. Modern rockets run on hypergolic propellants. While these are somewhat toxic, the lack of need for cumbersome ignition systems is what makes these engines popular. Lifespan: Kerbals are technically immortal but since they tend to take risks they generally don't live past 15-20 years. Biology: Their skin contains chlorophyll so they can make their own food however they can't produce it on their own and have to eat leaves to obtain it. They also have the ability to go into a hibernation state to conserve energy and can stay alive for years with minimal food or co2 intake. Their skeleton is primarily made of cartilage this allows them to handle more g-forces than the average person. They also possess an organ called the Khart which is a combination of both the heart and lungs. Their digestive system is similar to ours but has the ability to digest cellulose. The average weight of a Kerbal on Kerbin is about 40lbs. They reproduce sexually by rubbing themselves together and releasing pollan onto the skin of the opposite sex. Their female mate then rather painfully extrudes seed pods out of their brood pouch and this seed pot germinates into a baby Kerbal. Also, Under certain conditions they can reproduce asexually by budding though this is so rare it often makes national to global headlines. Famous Kerbals: Goddard Kerman: The great great grandfather of the modern Kerman family. He invented the first liquid fueled engine. Was killed when his experimental rocket exploded due to a turbopump failure. Motto: "Where there's a will, there's a way." Whittle Kerman: Founded Kerman Brother's aerospace company. Invented the J-20 Juno. The first successful jet engine. Motto: "Never give up unless you're dead." Jebidiah Kerman: Originally a famous racecar driver. He left racing for spaceflight after a horrible crash nearly killed him. He was soon persuaded by his sister Valantina Kerman to join the Kerbal Space Program because "there are fewer things to hit in space." Motto: "I wanna go fast." Bill Kerman: The youngest of the Kerman family,he was originally a member of Jebidiah's pit crew. He joined KSP and became an engineer responsible for repairing spacecraft. According to his older brother Jebidiah: "Don't let his age fool you, this kid knows more about engines than anyone you'll ever know." Motto: "That went better than I expected." Bob: Known for his shyness, Bob has always been the one to sit back and observe the world. He's also quite the bookworm, so it's no wonder he became a scientist. He is one of the many brilliant minds behind the nuclear and ion engines. "I'm more of a thinker than a flyer." Valentina "Val" Kerman: The oldest of the Kerman children she is also the most adventurous. She was obsessed with rockets and airplanes and joined the KSP Kerbonaut core as soon as she was old enough. Motto: "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one."

Stratenblitz proved there is a singularity in center of every planet

Former Gremlins(WW2 type-original); It would explain a lot.

I kinda have the feeling they are adding precursor planet after the recent ksp2 dev video and the mun arch change.

I want to be able to send that cute baby octopus into space too! I'd call him Octavian Boppusse. Imagine him with a little space suit ♡!

there are city lights on kerbin

And also doing science of the effect on standing infront of a engine blowing out superheated gas

Hold up, I’m red-green colorblind. Have they really been green this whole time?!

Cat: Hmm yes, the book here is made out of *BOOK* 0:13

game theory: they are aliens on earth before people because kerbin looks somewhat like earth but before the continents separated

it took me a sec but I got the whale reference , one of my favorite parts of the book.

in the second game they need to include a mock solar system somewhere

"They sent out monoliths in hopes of seeding new life" Miore evidence that the ksp monoliths are obvious 2001: A space odyssey reference

Does anyone know about a Kerbal called "Geneler" Kerman? I saw a Kerbal named that in a playthrough on RU-vid where there weren't any other names besides Jebediah, Bob and Bill at that time. I think his name was Geneler, or Genelar, something like that.

You should see one of the photos on the Xbox one S in the Microsoft store, one of the first photos you see is a rocket crashing into the sun

My version of the lore is that our solar system is a rumor among Kerbals, and that they build the rockets in a sort of space race against people who don’t exist

The kerbins are real, but they're robots identical to the original life forms they sent to a different star system

Precursor Kerbals? There is that Ancient Temple in the desert on the other side of the planet.

Me: "Cool, a video that will dive into the goofy descriptions of the construction parts; so much lore in there" The video: "the kerbals are clones and no one knows where they live". Facepalm.

IMO the kerbals experience time the same as we do (when time warp happens they also experience time warp)

i like Scott Manley's version. XD

I just realised something. In a ksp 2 development video the kerbals are seen pointing to a possible new planet this could be the planet that the ancient civilization lived on

Not just the few things you listed

I wonder what Whernher von Kerman's backstory was

My idea is that kerbals don't need anything, as a result they are looking for a sense of purpose. IDK just an idea

"An ancient precursor race sent out monoliths in case another species arose to figure them out." Completely unintentional, but that's almost the backstory of "Outer Wilds." Great. Now my theory is...(OUTER WILDS SPOILER AHEAD). The Kerbals exist in the universe created at the end of "Outer Wilds" and spawned as the embodiment of Feldspar. They are a race of Feldspars. (Better then my original origin of "descended from that Minion in the first 'Despicable Me' that floated into space).

they just are the prequel to the irken empire from invader zim

Kspc2 wasnt cancelled?

We just got some new lore, a Mun arch got cracked open and there’s something inside…

I love the idea of the Kerbals being some Halo-esc inheritors of ancient all powerful science gods and then just being, stupid.

I require a part 2

Funny Green Man

Real or not this video was fun

Ah, Yes Programme

The clones lost intelligence from excess uses?

My own personal canon is Rick Sanchez accidentally created the Kerbals, finding out about them after 1 year Kerbin time had passed. Rick is impressed enough that they went from nothing to rockets in a year, and our "experience" is Rick sitting back and watching his little green men go

has anyone ever heard of all tomorrow's I have an all tomorrow's eyes version of the kerbals the pilot

oh god dont summon game theory

Isnt kerbal pangea (large continet dinosaur time)

Snacks are made of people!

How would they live underground if they use photosynthesis?

Kerbals themselves are simply advanced forms of mystery goo

Another reason they can’t live underground is their supposed reliance on the sun for their energy.