Biosphe2 (was Futuof Humanity)

killgore4darkskies@... [spacesettlers] wrote:

> I have always been fascinated by Biosphere 2, read a number of articles
> and a couple of books on it, and now had a chance to tour it ... very
> sad to see the state it's in now. I don't understand why a 3rd and 4th
> and 5th air-tight Mission was not undertaken - by now 99% of the kinks
> could have been worked out so people could be fully simulating a space
> colony.

Agreed (I live not far from Biosphere 2 myself). If you've read the
books, then you probably understand better than most what went wrong
there. It wasn't primarily science or technology; it was politics and
personality. The guy originally running it was an egomaniac who divided
his team and tried to hide things from the press/public. It was a
complete fiasco, after which no respectable researchers wanted to touch
it with a 10-foot pole.

Even now, when there is a bit of actual research going on again, they
are careful to distance themselves from the original sealed-ecology
concept, and I think that's all due to the original mishandling.

Best,
- Joe