[Daffynition]

One view of Biosphere 2 was that it was “the most exciting scientific project to be undertaken in the U.S. since President John F. Kennedy launched us toward the moon”.

Agricultural was an on obvious and critical focus of Biosphere 2. It was planted over the course of a year before closure, and biospherians managed their farming and harvesting of food grown inside once enclosed.

Many week-long periods of simulated full closure tests were performed and data was gathered on their agricultural success. The crew were then able to adapt to their anticipated workload.

Overall these mini-missions were far too short to accurately provide meaningful data as to whether or not the team had achieved a level of agricultural success that could sustain Biosphere’s eight people for two years.

The Biosphere 2 was commanding in size. At approximately two and a half football fields, it remains the largest closed system ever created.

As one could imagine the conditions were emotionally challenging. Prior to the first closure mission’s midpoint, the participants had split into two groups and those who had once been friends became enemies.

Biosphere 2 had two closure experiments appropriately named Missions 1 and Mission 2. Mission 1 consisted of eight people during 1991-93. There was a six month hiatus that researchers used to evaluate conditions and engineers provided improvements prior to the second closure with a crew of seven people.

The second mission began on March 6, 1994 and ended abruptly in September of 1994. The crew included Norberto Romo (Capt.), John Druitt, Matt Finn, Pascale Maslin, Charlotte Godfrey, Rodrigo Romo and Tilak Mahato for a ten month test.

The second mission ended due to a financial dispute outside of the Biosphere 2. In fact it was a management dispute over the finances of the project. This conflict resulted in the lock out of on-site management and the mission to be ended prematurely.

[Jack Hydrazine]

As one could imagine the conditions were emotionally challenging. Prior to the first closure mission’s midpoint, the participants had split into two groups and those who had once been friends became enemies.

Don't tell me - Leftists and Conservatives?

[hinckley buzzard]

Sad indeed. The major failing of Biosphere, which I visited in 1999 or early 2000, was its being run by eggheads. One early experimental run failed because the oxygen levels kept mysteriously dropping to dangerously low levels despite the einsteins' best computer models. Turned out, they forgot to factor in the microbial life in the soils.

Never occurred to them that aerobic bacteria are called that for a reason.

[FlyVet]

I toured that place 15 years ago, when it still looked like a mini-paradise.

Interesting tidbit from the tour guide: the reason they underestimated the oxygen supply was because of the concrete pad underneath the structure. Apparently concrete takes a long time to cure completely, and while doing so, it consumes oxygen.

As for the friends becoming enemies, as my mother used to say, "Familiarity breeds contempt."

[Huskrrrr]

They are all prominent global warming scientists now. sarc

[OrioleFan]

My initial thoughts about biosphere when it started was that it was set up to be an experiment to see if these older nerdy guys could make it with their younger female inhabitants. Oh well, I guess I was wrong...

[SunkenCiv]

...agricultural success that could sustain Biosphere's eight people for two years.

In the real world, that kind of success can be found in something called a small farm. :') Thanks Daffynition. I remember a little of the coverage given this budding project by media sycophants; one of the participants was a self-described longevity expert who in interview explained that there's no reason the human lifespan can't hit 600 without any technological advances -- but that the laws of probability led him to the conclusion that surviving beyond that point would be basically impossible, because everyone would succumb to a fatal accident within 600 years. And of course, one drawback would be that the retirement age would have to be moved up to 575.

[ansel12]

I just reread “The Earth Abides” this would still make a nice, post-apocalyptic property.

[When do we get liberated?]

Let me get this straight. They had a self contained ecosystem that maintained people and could do so indefinitely. But when the funding went away it was shut down. So they had an ecologicly sound haven that only needed more tax dollars to function...

[The KG9 Kid]

Too bad that Biosphere 2 isn't in Nevada.

People would be taking weekend trips to deliberately splatter it with bullets until it caved in from structural damage.

I know I would.