On March 14 we went on a tag-a-long tour from Val Vista Park to see Biosphere 2. The drive to Biosphere was scenic, with changes in variety of cactus and other landscape as we ascended elevation to the site location in Oracle, AZ. The mountains behind Biosphere 2 actually had some snow on the upper peaks.
Original construction began in 1986 by Space Biospheres Ventures to construct a facility to study self-sustaining space-colonization technology. Two missions were completed between 1991 and 1994, with human subjects sealed in Biosphere 2 to analyze survivability in a created environment. The outcomes were considered successful, but no further missions were planned.
In 2007 University of Arizona took over management of the facility. The enclosure is now used to support research for large scale ecology projects, such as the consequences of global climate change. Ecosystems within Biosphere 2 include ocean with coral reef; mangrove wetlands; tropical rainforest; savannah grassland, and fog desert. Huge air-handlers can adjust environmental conditions in each of these areas...e.g. if they want to study impact of less rain and cooler temperatures in the rainforest, this can be accomplished by settings made within the energy center.
The most frequent visitor question...where is Biosphere 1? Answer...Biosphere 1 is our natural planet Earth!
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