The Biosphere Projects

There have been two Biosphere projects. The first Biosphere project attempted to recreate an Earth-like environment in a closed system. Needless to say, our planet is too complex to replicate its entire ecosystem, much less operate one in complete isolation. To some people the Biosphere 1 Project was a success because we gained knowledge about the complexity of closed ecosystems. Inside the Biosphere 1 closed ecosystems, scientists found that there were many problems, including the loss of oxygen through the concrete walls. So, the biosphere scientists learned much about closed habitat construction.

The new Biosphere 2 Project is under new management, and they are studying partial closed ecosystems, selecting specific problems to examine.

We are a long way from putting a Biosphere on Mars, but the Biosphere projects are an essential first step in the colonization of and future manned missions to Mars.