Artificial Biospheres In Space

Anecdotal to this I understand that one of the challenges
encountered was that the bees died.

They then felt obliged to pollinate by hand.

Unimagineable.

Even if a successful Biosphere was made, we should still have ready
the resources needed in case something gets thrown off balance or
there's a need to expand the size of the Biosphere. It's just too
risky in space. You can't just throw in the towel and march out the
front door.

It's good to be prepared. Anything could happen.

Obviously.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, Andy Goddard
> Hi all!
>
> It's worth remembering that Biosphere:2 was designed to be a self-
contained
> unit. That it almost succeeded is a testament to the designers and
> ecologists behind it. Though I personally think that there wasn't
enough
> ocean, and true viability comes at larger sizes than they could
achieve.
>
> However, that's NOT the right approach towards an orbital
settlement. Why
> aim to make a self-contained, sealed environment with no net flow
of
> materials in or out? After all, it's impossible to model some
fundamental
> Earth processes at the scale of the largest O'Neill colonies (such
as the
> tectonic subduction of carbonates and recycling of those rocks),
so why
> bother trying to achieve it?
>
> Surely the whole point of orbital colonies is of real estate, and
cheap
> access to new materials?
>
> I'd therefore argue that the goal should be a clean environment,
an
> aesthetically pleasing, shirt-sleeve and spun one, in order to
provide a
> quality of life that Earth can't match, and which we feel adapted
for and
> psychologically drawn to. That it might mean ferrying in
occasional
> atmospheric gases, water, etc., and the disposal of wastes,
against the