A Repair Manual for Spaceship Earth
A failed experiment in the Arizona desert holds valuable lessons for earthly survival
By Alyssa Battistoni
On September 26, 1991, surrounded by the cameras of the world media, eight people dressed in bright red jumpsuits sealed themselves inside a three-acre steel-and-glass dome in the Arizona desert filled with over three thousand species of animals and plants. They planned to remain inside for two full years, aiming to show that the structure — known as Biosphere 2 — was capable of sustaining life while completely sealed off from Biosphere 1, also known as Earth.
Amidst Biosphere 2’s seven biomes — desert, rainforest, savannah, marsh, ocean, city, farm — the Biospherians would grow their own food and conduct research on the workings of the closed system. They would rely on the plants and animals they lived alongside to produce oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, fertilize the soil, and consume waste. Lessons from the experiment were expected to advance the prospects of human life in space and on other planets.
Biosphere 2 may seem to be little more than a bizarre episode in the annals of extravagant scientific undertakings. But we should take its history seriously as we think about the future of life on Biosphere 1, which today appears fairly dire.
