The results and causes of the failure of an experiment with people isolated for two years in a dome that tried to imitate the Earth

Some science fiction books tell stories of groups of humans living on other planets, isolated from the environment of those places in domes that reproduce the Earth’s atmosphere. Because a similar experiment, which imitated the terrestrial system and whose objective was to discover if it is possible to reproduce “biospheres” on other planets, was carried out in 1991, with a team locked inside a giant dome. However, reality turned out to be much more unpredictable than works of fiction.

O incredible.club became interested in this unusual experiment and found out what happened behind the sealed doors.

In 1987, large-scale construction began in the middle of the Sonoran Desert in the US state of Arizona. After four years, when the work was completed, it was clear to lay people that it was a complex of glass and metal greenhouses, similar to the buildings of science fiction films. The work occupied an area of ​​more than 3 hectares. Its structure obstructed the passage of air, which made it possible to reproduce the conditions of life on other planets with an unfavorable atmosphere for the survival of living beings.

The project was named Biosphere 2. The futuristic construction was supposed to become a kind of completely self-sufficient second system (the Earth was considered Biosphere 1). The airtightness of the buildings was so impressive that it let in less air than the International Space Station.

Underground, engineers designed special constructions. The water pipes were used as a heating system and a liquid reservoir. At the same time, the purpose of the pressure equalizers, the giant “lungs” of the system, was to compensate for the expansion and compression of the air when it heated up during the day and cooled down at night. In addition, to prevent any kind of external invasion (except sunlight), the floor was covered with thick metal sheets, whose total weight was approximately 50 tons.

Inside, the building was divided into 7 areas, called, not by chance, biomes. In each of them, some of the Earth’s biomes were reproduced: tropical forest, fog desert, mangroves, ocean with coral reefs and savannah. In addition, two anthropogenic biomes were incorporated that included the housing area and the agricultural sector, to cultivate plants and raise domestic animals.

On September 26, 1991, Biosphere 2 opened its doors to a “crew” made up of four men and four women, including an agronomist, an oceanologist and an ecologist, who lived alongside about 3,000 species of plants and animals, including trees and insects. The biosphere fields had sweet potato, sugar beet, peanut, wheat, and papaya plantations, among others, which served as food for the biospherians (the name given to the team members). In the cultivation of these plants, chemical fertilizers were not used, which, after all, could harm the health of the crew in a closed environment.

It is worth noting that 83% of the food consisted of vegetables and the diet was designed by one of the project participants, nutritionist Roy Walford, as part of his research into ways to increase life expectancy. Interestingly, the diet — which, as mentioned, included a large percentage of vegetables, particularly sweet potatoes — affected one member’s body in an unexpected way: Jane Poynter turned orange.

At the same time, the team ate chicken from the agricultural area and fish from the ocean biome about once a week only. After the experiment, Jane said, crew members even licked their plates so as not to lose a single gram of nutrients.

Despite starvation during the first year of the project and the loss of about 1/6 of their body weight (one of the members, Taber MacCallum, lost 27 kg), the members’ vital signs improved after the end of the experiment. During the second year inside the dome, the weight of the members stabilized, although the feeling of hunger did not go away. The results of the medical tests done outside Biosphere 2 showed that the entire team had an accelerated metabolism.

It is worth noting that the semi-vegetarian diet, which lasted two years, affected the crew’s digestion. Due to the small amount of meat in the diet, the enzymes responsible for its digestion were no longer found in the body.

The isolated environment affected animals and plants more drastically. Most vertebrates died by the end of the first year of the project. But some species, on the other hand, felt more comfortable: for example, a population explosion of cockroaches occurred, which even replaced the pollinators taken “on board” at the beginning of the experiment, which does not happen in nature. In addition, the plantations were attacked by a large number of pests.

Over time, the climate of the desert biome became similar to that of the savanna (equivalent to the Brazilian cerrado), as there was too much condensation under the glass covering, resulting in constant rain.

The most resistant plants were able to grow indoors. Trees in the rainforest and savannah biome were damaged. Due to wind resistance in real conditions, the wood strengthens, but in windless weather, the trunks thin and begin to break under the pressure of their own weight. In addition, the lack of sunlight caused the leaves to turn yellow and fall off.

The biggest problem faced by the Biospherians (besides the constant feeling of hunger due to calorie deficiency) was the lack of oxygen. In 16 months, the gas level decreased from 20.9% to 14.5%, becoming equivalent to the percentage existing at 4 thousand meters of altitude (the so-called “thin air”) and harming the health of some project members. The tiredness increased. In addition, cardiac arrests began to occur during sleep. Doctor Roy Walford, who was in his late 70s, started to suffer from dementia. Therefore, the decision was taken to inject air clandestinely into the structure.

The cause of the drop in oxygen was discovered after the completion of the project: some microbes multiplied in the soil, converting oxygen into carbon dioxide. The oxygen and carbon dioxide entered into a chemical reaction with the concrete, forming calcium carbonate, which caused the “mysterious dissolution”.

Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter, members of the mission and who were married a few months after leaving Biosphere 2, said they had felt the decrease in the amount of oxygen more than ever in 1992, during a total lunar eclipse that lasted approximately half an hour.

It is worth emphasizing that this natural phenomenon did not affect anyone outside the dome. But it was bad for the members of the project: the level of carbon dioxide in the place increased suddenly, because the atmosphere inside the dome was 19 billion times smaller than outside the construction and the plants stopped producing oxygen due to the absence of sunlight.

One of the apartments in Biosphere 2

As in a kind of longer, non-TV Big Brother, relationships between team members weren’t perfect either. Jane Poynter stated that, at the end of the first year, the biospherians split into two groups. Members of the first group believed that it was necessary to leave part of the work to outside scientists, breaking the rules of total isolation. The second group preferred to maintain the transparency of the experiment.

Despite this, all the residents of the dome came to the conclusion that any damage to Biosphere 2 could harm not only the project itself, but also each one of them. Therefore, despite the disagreement that already reigned in the team, they tried to work in a coordinated way to preserve their own health and that environment that would be their home for two long years.

Later, Roy Walford admitted that he didn’t like the whole team, but he and his colleagues dealt with their anger and carried out tasks as best they could. One of the psychologists who spoke with the participants after the project stated: “If I got lost in the Amazon rainforest and sought help to survive and find my way out, they (the biospherians) would be the perfect choice”.

However, many years after the conclusion of the experiment, the former colleagues ceased to maintain almost all ties of friendship.

Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter in 2016

On September 26, 1993, the hermetic doors opened and the Biospherians left voluntary confinement. At that time, society was against the project: it was believed that this experiment had nothing to do with science and the fact that it pumped oxygen made the project a shame. The mission was officially considered a failure due to problems with oxygen, the proliferation of pests and, finally, the strained relations between the members.

After completing the project, Jane Poynter said: “When we left Biosphere 2, we had a big party with our friends that we hadn’t seen for two years. The next morning, we were faced with a huge pile of garbage left by our guests, unlike us — during the project we had learned to recycle waste. When we went to the market and found a wide variety of products, we realized that, before the project, we lived with the feeling that things are easy. Just go to a market and buy whatever you want. The experiment makes you stop to think about all of that.”

The greenhouse complex now belongs to the University of Arizona, which carries out various studies related to biology and ecology. In addition, there are many tourists who come to the US especially to visit the bell jar. During the tour of the building, it is possible to find an inscription made by one of the biospherians: “Only here do we understand how much we depend on nature. Without trees there is no way to breathe; without pure water there is no way to drink”.

In your opinion, did this experiment advance science in research on the chances of creating life conditions on other planets? Or are the aforementioned flaws so inexcusable that the project wasn’t worth all the investment?