Refrigerated trucks arrived to pump pure oxygen into Biosphere 2. The effect was jubilation. We began madly laughing and running. It was one of the most dramatic physiological revivals of my life—underlining how we take life-giving oxygen for granted.
Prior to that, observers said watching us work was like viewing a slow-motion dance. Take a bow, green plants and ocean algae. Without you, Earth might have an atmosphere like that on Mars. What caused the crisis? Microbes in our organically enriched soils had produced carbon dioxide at a greater rate than our young plants could produce oxygen via photosynthesis. We discovered that most of the missing oxygen was converted to CO2 and had been absorbed by the unsealed concrete in our habitat.
Reentry We emerged from Biosphere 2 on September 26, , having completed our mission. All eight of us were profoundly changed. We were in remarkably good health.
We had the body-fat content of pro athletes and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels than we had going in. Emotionally, stepping outside was like leaving a lover who had taken tender care of me. Biosphere 2 was our baby, and we had grown and been transformed by it.
My first trips to supermarkets were strangely disorienting. I went back to eating meals without knowing where and how each ingredient was grown, harvested and processed. I realized my former world had no trash, packaging or pollution-causing cars and no annoying, absurd things. Everything in Biosphere 2 made sense.
It was an incredibly sensitive world. Everything we did had consequences and greatly increased our mindfulness. Unfortunately, our outward sci-fi appearance may have worked too well. Sadly, much of what we learned went unappreciated.
Overwrought media coverage led people to think the experiment failed. But a million visitors came to peer into Biosphere 2, and millions more followed us in news accounts.
We were happy to be stars of our new-age zoo, a living exhibit that increased human understanding of our relationship with our global biosphere. Biosphere 2, the greatest experiment ever conducted in ecological self-organization, revolutionized the field of experimental ecology. We proved that a sealed ecosystem can work for years, a lesson Mars colony planners can build on. We learned lessons to help keep stressed reefs alive and how to protect rainforests.
We worked with our green allies to keep CO2 from getting too high. Our farm showed that high productivity and full nutrient recycling could be done without toxic chemicals. Today I remain optimistic that humans can solve the problems they cause. My optimism, in large degree, comes from my Biosphere 2 experience, which taught us every action, however small, is important. We are facing a species IQ test that will determine if humans can show the intelligence, resilience and adaptability to be a cooperative, creative part of our planetary biosphere—or whether we are headed to an evolutionary dead-end.
This is the exhilarating and yes, scary, challenge of our time. But we have allies. As we so unforgettably learned in Biosphere 2, we are all part of the biosphere, body and soul. Mark Nelson is the author of Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2 , from which parts of this article are adapted. More than two decades ago an alum joined seven other explorers to boldly go where no one had gone before: into a sealed, miniature Earth where they would have to survive two years on their own.
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Voices in the Wilderness. There was a lot of beetroot and sweet potato. Some people created new things like a taco-shaped like a dinosaur. Some people made horrible things like cold potato leaf soup. On top of that, oxygen levels decreased faster than anticipated, with a corresponding build-up of carbon dioxide.
We worked in a kind of slow-motion dance, with no energy wasted. If the oxygen levels had dropped any lower, there could have been serious health issues. Understandably, morale deteriorated. Living under biosphere conditions was a challenge at the best of times. If the coronavirus lockdown feels restrictive, imagine spending two years with the same seven people and no internet. Added to which, true to their theatrical origins, the biospherians were on permanent display.
Coachloads of tourists and schoolchildren arrived daily to tap on the glass and take pictures of the emaciated crew. Leigh remembers anthropologist Jane Goodall coming to visit. Cups were thrown and people were spat at, but thankfully there was no violence. The other group had other ideas. In other words, keep the biosphere closed and retain the purity of the experiment, no matter the cost. A similar debate was going on outside. Eventually extra food was smuggled in and two oxygen pop-ups followed.
The biospherians were overjoyed. The intention, in fact, was to continue the experiment, learning from their mistakes. A second mission went into the biosphere in March , and looked to be faring better.
A month later, though, out of the blue, Ed Bass decided on a mass purge. These annual crops were grown in rotation in 18 separate plots in the agroforestry zone. They included rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, sweet potato, potatoes, beans, soybeans, rape, mustard, safflower, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, eggplant aubergine , peppers and leafy vegetables.
But the biospherians were not experienced agronomists, and they had many problems with insect pests and plant diseases because they had to rely on natural biological control practices rather than chemical pest control measures, and the biological control methods did not always work well. As their food crisis deepened, the biospherians decided to eat some of the stores of seeds they had brought in, which were intended to be used to produce more food. At quite an early stage they found that bananas were one of the easiest and most nutritious food sources that they could use in the rainforest zone so they allowed the bananas to proliferate naturally from rhizomes , and bananas now dominate that zone.
The initial intention was that chickens would be used as a continuing source of eggs, but the biospherians could not afford to use the limited amounts of food to feed the chickens, so these were slaughtered and eaten.
The pigs also were in competition with the food demands of the humans. So, the pigs were slaughtered and eaten. Despite this, they remained physically healthy. In fact, one of the more lasting scientific contributions from Biosphere 2 has been the recognition that a restricted energy-limited diet can increase health and longevity, as long as it is a "nutrient-dense" diet, with all the essential ingredients.
See related article. There were inevitable interpersonal difficulties, doubtless exacerbated by living so intimately as a group in the highly stressful conditions. According to a report on a talk given later by one of the initial participants, Jayne Poynter, "the crew split into two factions about 6 months into the mission and from that point on, the two groups worked together, but could not get along.
Their differences curtailed creativity and caused communication problems. Management problems. Perhaps one of the most serious problems with Biosphere 2 was that it lacked a high level of scientific credibility see "The Scientist" Vol 7, February Towards the end of the first 2-year crew's mission, Edward Bass asked the Smithsonian Institute to produce an analytical report.
Among the criticisms mentioned in this report were:. This report recommended that a Scientific Director be appointed to oversee the development of the Biosphere 2 programme, and that the Biosphere 2 managers begin publishing and discussing their work more openly. In fact, there was only one trained scientist among the original 8-member crew - Professor Walford, who was a trained physician and served as the crew's doctor.
It is astonishing to think that such a major project should be undertaken by a crew of people who, despite their undoubted enthusiasm, were not trained scientists and who, apparently, did not keep proper scientific records. Biological problems. The main biological problems in Biosphere 2 are perhaps predictable: a few common species tend to proliferate to the point where they achieve pest status, and other organisms are then disadvantaged.
In Biosphere 2 the most successful insects are ants especially the " crazy ant " - so called because of its distinctive pattern of movement , cockroaches and katydids closely related to crickets.
All of these insects thrive in warm environments with constant conditions, such as centrally heated houses where food is available. It is no surprise that they became abundant within Biosphere 2. In contrast, the several beneficial insects that were introduced as pollinators of plants soon died out. Bold projects always have their critics, and attract intense media attention.
Sadly, the catalogue of faults in the Biosphere 2 project provided plenty of ammunition, revealing fundamental flaws in the initial programme design. The last straw came when the first team of biospherians - hungry, irritable and disillusioned - admitted defeat and ended their stay.
They emerged in the glare of TV cameras. The dream had become a disaster. The second crew of 7 people entered the complex, but by this stage the programme's scientific credibility was largely destroyed..
It was also placed under firm scientific control, with an eminent Scientific Director to guide its future. The vice-Provost of Columbia University, Michael Crow, said 'We view it as the world's first teaching and research tool about global management. It's a big laboratory'. Today, Biosphere 2 continues as a visitor attraction, but now also has a major educational role in informing the public about environmental issues. The focus of research is now on climate change and the potential consequences of the predicted increases in global CO 2 levels.
Central to this research objective, the agroforestry zone now houses some cottonwood trees of the willow family , which can be exposed to different CO 2 levels Figure 5. Figure 5. Cottonwood trees Populus sp. We have gone briefly through the story of Biosphere 2. Now we can ask "What lessons can we learn from it? Setting aside the grand vision of establishing colonies on Mars, Biosphere 2 is perhaps a valuable tool for focusing attention on the relationships between humans, the resources they need, and the maintenance of a diverse and complex ecosystem.
As a visitor attraction, it can have a major educational role in raising environmental awareness. And as a research tool public access is restricted to the human habitation zone it can be used to address important issues. I suggest that things went wrong because of a lack of proper planning. Forget about Biosphere 2 for a minute, and think instead about the international though mainly American space programme.
How are astronauts selected, and what are their roles? It is no coincidence that astronauts are middle-aged people, with families and a nice home to go back to. They also are extremely fit, highly trained to do the technical jobs, and ugh! The last thing you want on a spacecraft is a "loose cannon" - someone who is unpredictable.
What's more, each crew member has specific roles to play, but all the decisions are taken in Mission Control, not by debate among the astronauts themselves. There is an immense team of experts monitoring and directing every aspect of the mission, and the astronauts are, by and large, functionaries rather than decision-makers. Contrast this with Biosphere 2.
The biospherians were self-selected enthusiasts, committed to environmental ideals.
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