the other hand, space is surprisingly close by as well. The space shuttle, for example, travels out beyond the edge of Earth and into the vacuum of space in just over eight minutes, not much different than the time needed to pass through the two hatches and cross the anteroom of the Biosphere’s airlock.
But major differences between Biosphere 2 and a spacecraft in orbit do exist—relative size and speed, for example. And there is always the non-trivial matter of the complex physics of rocket propulsion that launch a spacecraft into orbit, inherently dramatic in concept and still bold in execution even in this fourth decade of space travel.
The memory of a rocket launch is not something a person forgets. During powered flight aboard the space shuttle, the engines’ roar pervades the crew quarters and the thrust of acceleration holds you against the launch seat at three times your normal weight. After the requisite velocity is achieved, the engines suddenly cut off leaving behind the eerie silence of coasting in unending Earth orbit. The three Gs of acceleration disappear as quickly as the sound. You unbuckle the safety harnesses holding you during launch and float from your seat to the nearest window. You, the space traveler, are now out of this world, privileged beyond all measure to gaze through a window that will forevermore change your perspective of both yourself and your home planet.
Watching Earth from orbit is breathtaking, awe-inspiring, tantalizing, and frightening—all rolled into one complex emotion continually evoked by the panorama before your eyes. Picture yourself floating at that window. Peering out, you watch the oceans and islands and landforms of Earth passing by your window at unimaginable speed. I want to write ‘below your window’, but in the weightless world of space you have no sense of ‘up’. Thus there is no ‘above’ and no ‘below’ in orbital flight. You just float at the window and look out on the scene moving past at about five miles per second. Are you speeding by oceans and continents, or are you just hovering in a magical gondola and watching the world turn beside you?
The viewing angle of any part of Earth as seen from the spacecraft window is forever being changed by the relentless pace of orbital mechanics. You are constantly moving your head and hurriedly changing your body position, pressing always closer to the protective glass to catch the last glimpse of your favorite island cluster or to see precisely where your family and friends live there in Houston, marked by Galveston Bay and arrow-straight Interstate 10, the circle of the 610 Loop, and the familiar patterns of the runways of the city’s airports. Within hours, the inside of all viewing ports of any spaceship are covered with forehead, cheek, and nose smudges which must repeatedly be wiped away.
Biosphere 2, of course, is not moving. Rather, it is firmly fixed in the hard-packed scrabble of the southwestern desert of North America, a beautiful part of Biosphere 1. The crew within the Biosphere views the outside scene, itself changing with the tempo of the seasons, at a leisurely pace. I suspect that most motion observed outside Biosphere 2 would be the parade of curious Earthlings peering through the glare of the glass walls to catch glimpses of the alien pioneers at work inside their independent ecology.
Along one wall of the living quarters, however, there is a special window through which inhabitants of both worlds can get a closer look at each other and engage in face-to-face conversation of a sort, the words carried by speakerphones, the images of the people slightly distorted by the internal reflection of the glass. I had the great pleasure of visiting with the biospherians through the conversation window, an occasion which started with greeting them by matching hands, a right hand flat against the left hand and left against right with the palms and fingers separated only by glass. Because of this rite of greeting, the conversation window is constantly covered with smudges of hand prints inside and out, quite unlike a spaceship. As far as I know, you will never find hand prints on the outside of a spaceship window.
The book these biospherians have given us here is also a special window of sorts. It gives us insight into the other world in which these unique pioneers have worked and lived for two years.
– Joseph P. Allen, former US astronaut August 1993, Houston, Texas
“We invented Biosphere 2 not only for science, but also for beauty, adventure, and hope for all humanity – and for the Earth’s biosphere itself. To teach human beings to see Biosphere 1 in a new way, this is the ultimate vision behind Biosphere 2. We have the ability to be a creative, cooperative agent with evolution. This is what I call victory.”
– John P. Allen, Co-founder and Inventor of Biosphere 2 Research and Development, Space Biospheres Ventures (1984-1994)
“Space Biospheres Ventures represents a new approach to doing business. We are a private ecological research firm which has created one of the boldest research and development facilities of this century. We are also a profit-making venture. Biosphere 2 ushers forth technological development that is marketable and beneficial to the Earth. It responds to the current environmental crises by searching for real solutions, and stands as a vision of hope so that we as a species can move forward and leave our destructive ways behind us.”
– Margaret Augustine, Co-architect and former CEO, Space Biospheres Ventures (1984-1994)
“Biosphere 2 is the child of our Earth’s biosphere, grown from the same flesh and genetic material, and born of the perspective gained with Apollo’s distant images of the Earth. As with the Apollo images, Biosphere 2 allows us to see in one succinct view, a complete integrated system of life.”
– Edward P. Bass, Co-founder of Biosphere 2, Founding Trustee of the Philecology Trust
BIOSPHERE 2 WAS THE RESULT OF A creative and dedicated network of scientists, managers, engineers, and architects who attempted the impossible—and succeeded. But a special word of recognition is due to three people: John Allen, for his vision, boundless energy, and practical savvy; Margaret Augustine, for her tenacity in guiding the dream towards its fulfillment; and Edward Bass, for his manifested commitment to the environment and the ecological technologies of the future.
The eight-member crew was only a part of this story; Biosphere 2 needs both a team on the outside as well as the inside. While the following pages give an insight into the challenges of living under glass, the entire biospherian crew is deeply appreciative of the extensive team on the outside whose support made our adventure possible. Without their dedication and vigilance, we could not have completed our task.
Mission One biospherians from left to right: (Top) Taber MacCallum, Sally Silverstone, Linda Leigh, Mark Van Thillo (Laser), Mark Nelson, (Bottom) Jane Poynter, Abigail Alling, and Roy Walford.
LOOKING BACK ON LIVING IN BIOSPHERE 2
AND WHAT WAS LEARNED TO GUIDE US THROUGH OUR CURRENT ECOLOGICAL CRISIS
“[Many people] believe that human society may successfully design nature to fit economic aspirations. What Biosphere 2 showed, in a short time, is the lesson that our global human society is learning more slowly with Biosphere 1, that humans have to fit their behavior into a closed ecosystem.”
– Professor Howard T. Odum, University of Florida
