Yes, there’s out-of-the-box thinking. But that’s sort of old hat. Then there are inside-the-expandable-habitat ideas.

The Bigelow Aerospace folks in Las Vegas, Nevada have been busy having fun, stuffing payloads into their Genesis II module now being readied for liftoff into Earth orbit early next year.

According to Maijinn Chen of the Payload Development & Integration department at Bigelow Aerospace, Genesis II will carry a “Biobox” - a three-chamber contraption that houses roaches, scorpions, as well as ants.

This colony of “arthroponauts” will all share the same air as they cruise through space - and under the watchful eye of cameras positioned inside the habitat.

Additionally, a high-roller innovation is being flown, Chen reports. Genesis II will tote along a “space bingo” game.

A set of 40 bingo balls are to be carried onboard Genesis II, with the game reset as onboard fans blow the balls back into a mixing chamber via a set of opened doors internal to the expandable structure.

Upon a command sent up via mission control, computers on Genesis II will operate all the components and control the games, as well as store video images of the bingo games until ground controllers are ready to download them via satellite-to-ground communications systems.

Place your bets if this first casino of the cosmos catches on.