Biosphere 2: a little Sci-fi in the desert

Biosphere 2 outside

Biosphere 2 Rainforest

Biosphere 2

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Biosphere 2 Desert

Biosphere 2 Long

Biosphere 2 Water supply

Biosphere fish

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Half an hour north of the Tucson city limits stands a building that would not be misplaced in a Science Fiction movie. Modeled after the first self-sufficient biosphere, the Earth, the Biosphere 2 was built in the 1980s to proof viability of closed systems to support human life in space. This glass research facility is the largest closed eco-system in the world and now open to visitors.

In 1991 four women and four men were locked up in this completely closed environment for the first Biosphere mission. Their goal was to explore survivability in a closed ecological system for future space missions by taking care of several biomes: the rainforest, the ocean, a mangrove, a savannah and a fog desert. Except the savannah, these biomes are still intact and you'll experience the differences in temperature and humidity while walking through. The researchers also had an agricultural area where they grew their own vegetables and had a couple of animals, but the first year they reported continuous hunger due to a shortage of carbs. Another 'wall' they hit was a shortage of oxygen due to a miscalculation, resulting in 'injections' of fresh oxygen on several occasions. And even though the group managed to stay inside for the planned two years and conduct a lot of research, due to these problems the project was considered by many as a failure.

Now it is owned by the local University of Arizona and used for their research projects. The admission includes a guided tour around the facilities and into the biomes. The volunteer that takes you into the Biosphere will sure spill a lot of technical information at you, but the impressive different eco-systems are worth seeing. The old agricultural area has now been replaced with the LEO project, or Landscape Evolution Observatory. A laboratory experiment by students of the University. This way the Biosphere has a new purpose and continues to be an important international research facility for Earth sciences. And adds a little Sci-fi to the hot Sonoran desert...!