USA_SCI_BIOSPH_69_xs
Biosphere 2 Project undertaken by Space Biosphere Ventures, a private ecological research firm funded by Edward P. Bass of Texas. ‘Biospherian’ Jayne Poynter harvesting potatoes inside Biosphere 2 in the intensive agriculture biome. Biosphere 2 was a privately funded experiment, designed to investigate the way in which humans interact with a small self-sufficient ecological environment, and to look at possibilities for future planetary colonization. The $30 million Biosphere covers 2.5 acres near Tucson, Arizona, and was entirely self- contained. The eight ‘Biospherian’s’ shared their air- and water-tight world with 3,800 species of plant and animal life. The project had problems with oxygen levels and food supply, and has been criticized over its scientific validity. 1992