Difference between revisions of "Biosphere 2"

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(If we sell people on colonizing Mars, then deliver a few astronauts who waltz around on Mars a while and then come back and report that there is no reason to ever go back to that magnificent)
 
 
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[[File:Biosphere 2 - 1998 a.jpg|thumb|600x600px|Biosphere 2 exterior view.                                                                  Source: Wikicommons]]
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The Biosphere 2 project attempted to make a materially isolated system in which the animals, including people, produce [[carbon dioxide]] and consume [[oxygen]]; the plants produce oxygen and consume carbon dioxide; and the entire set of interactions between animals, plants, and microbes recycles the materials necessary to life.  It enclosed more than 3 acres.<ref>[http://www.b2science.org/who/fact UASCIENCE Biosphere2]</ref>  The originally planned recycling failed and many species of animals became extinct in the enclosure while other animals and plants wildly increased in number.<ref>Go to [http://archive.org/web/web.php WayBackMachine] enter: <nowiki>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general620.html]</nowiki> select 3 FEB 2010 for ''Trouble in the bio bubble''</ref>
  
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"The group of Mars colonization enthusiasts has a larger share of people with engineering expertise than the average group foisting some scheme upon the public as worthy of their altruistic support." " Engineers and aerospace engineers in particular have had a sorry record of selling projects to the public." " It is famous that any project recommended to the military takes longer, costs more, and does less than the boosters claim when they propose it; and not by any small margin. The people who sold the space station and the space shuttle are included." " That is the reputation we have." " It will not change this year or the next." " Engineers as a group have a disinclination to tell the boss that his or her pet project will not perform as advertised." " When it is clear that a part of a project he or she is responsible for will cause problems, the engineer says so, but there have been times when something could have been said but it was not." " We have had astronauts trained as fighter pilots even when it was clear that the best pilot for a rocket to orbit is a computer." " Worse, a pilot was designed into the space shuttle system." " The Soviet's Buran was not an economic vehicle, but it did prove that a pilot was not needed for a shuttle type vehicle." " A robot pilot and lack of a front window might not have been enough to save the space shuttle from economic ruin, but it would have helped." " The requirement for astronauts to be pilots was a matter of policy from Dwight D. Eisenhower, and it is proper for engineers that are hired to implement a policy do that instead of suggesting an alternate policy." " With all due respect to the memory of Eisenhower, having fighter pilots aboard a rocket does not help the rocket reach orbit." " The man-rating feature of giving the pilot control of abort modes never saved any lives." " The man-rating system had requirements that only the Space Shuttle could fulfill, guaranteeing that the project would continue until it killed astronauts." " Now that the space shuttle is destined to retire, the up-dating of the man-rating system can be considered too."
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There were a number of planning failures. The concrete had not fully cured, which reduced the oxygen content of the air. Air conditioning was inadequate for a huge greenhouse in the desert which caused over heating.
  
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"Putting make work projects on the space shuttle or on the space station did not enhance the prestige of astronauts in the long run. People learned that sending up astronauts increases the expense of a project that could be done with robots, but it was the price that was paid to get funding from the NASA bureaucracy. If the purpose of a space program is to have astronauts as a demonstration of national technical prowess, this almost makes sense. If the purpose of a space program is to make progress toward eventual spaIf we sell people on colonizing Mars, then deliver a few astronauts who waltz around on Mars a while and then come back and report that there is no reason to ever go back to that magnificent desolation that is Mars; there will be some unhappy people. Of course there is water on Mars, as ice, frost and hydrated minerals. There is every element needed to build factories and cities on Mars, but if the industrial infrastructure is not put into place to extract these things, they will not help a bit. Let us see the plan that will result in cities on Mars before we sell them. Mars will kill an unprotected human being about as quickly as Luna will. Let us not" sell paradise and deliver a wasteland."ce colonization, make work projects for astronauts in orbit make no sense."
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Biosphere 2 was in essence a model of a [[Settlement|martian]] or moon [[settlement]].  The failure of the experiment shows that these types of systems are much more complex than expected.
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It seems that the main original difficulty was underestimating the problem of establishing a stable recycling system of plants and animals in imitation of the wild recycling system on Earth. More regular study of the various animals and plants to be put into such a system is required to learn all of their specific needs and products.  Proper research should be done in smaller scale enclosures with regular records being kept.  Just how difficult it is to produce a closed recycling life support system as originally planned for Biosphere 2 will be learned when the goal is accomplished.
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It might not be an efficient way to proceed to try to learn everything about every plant and animal necessary for a recycling life support system.  Some experiments with incompletely known combinations of plants animals and microbes can expand knowledge in this area.  Already commercial organizations offer sorts of self-contained sealed aquariums.<ref>[http://eco-sphere.com/ Closed Ecosystems]</ref><ref>[http://www.abundantearth.com/store/ecosphere.html Self-Contained Underwater Ecosystems]</ref>  These may be more entertainment than science but they suggest possibilities. Small scale experiments with some containment of some of the living species might yield results.  Food, gasses, water, and nutrients could be transferred by experimenters with remotely controlled mechanisms.  The amounts of substances needed to be added to make up for imperfect recycling and the amounts of waste products could be recorded.  Whatever progress has been made in this area so far, there is a possibility of practical recycling to meet all of settlers needs on Mars.  The requirement on Mars is not that of complete material closure, but getting by with only the materials that can be generated by industry from the atmosphere dirt and rocks of Mars.  Success in producing such a system would be bigger news than the troubles that occurred in Biosphere 2. 
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The [[Melissa]] project of the [[ESA]] has been a small scale attempt to develop a small closed [[Ecology]] for space transportation.
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There have been several simulated long duration space missions, most of which ran into problems with interpersonal relationships. In 2021 NASA is planning the CHAPEA missions to study this problem. <ref>https://www.nasa.gov/chapea</ref> 
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==Various Problems Encountered==
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Biosphere suffered from a number of problems.  In no particular order:
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--- Oxygen levels dropped quickly from curing concrete and from oxygen breathing bacteria. This made physical labour challenging.
 +
 
 +
--- There were insect species which grew out of control. These included ants and cockroaches.
 +
 
 +
--- Air conditioning was inadequate.  It got very hot inside.
 +
 
 +
--- The team split into two factions, those who wished to continue as planned, and those who wanted to bring in materials from outside to make things better.  This division grew more acrimonious as time went on and eventually ended the mission early.
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==References==
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<references />
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[[Category:Biospherics]]

Latest revision as of 09:19, 9 September 2021

Biosphere 2 exterior view. Source: Wikicommons

The Biosphere 2 project attempted to make a materially isolated system in which the animals, including people, produce carbon dioxide and consume oxygen; the plants produce oxygen and consume carbon dioxide; and the entire set of interactions between animals, plants, and microbes recycles the materials necessary to life. It enclosed more than 3 acres.[1] The originally planned recycling failed and many species of animals became extinct in the enclosure while other animals and plants wildly increased in number.[2]

There were a number of planning failures. The concrete had not fully cured, which reduced the oxygen content of the air. Air conditioning was inadequate for a huge greenhouse in the desert which caused over heating.

Biosphere 2 was in essence a model of a martian or moon settlement. The failure of the experiment shows that these types of systems are much more complex than expected.

It seems that the main original difficulty was underestimating the problem of establishing a stable recycling system of plants and animals in imitation of the wild recycling system on Earth. More regular study of the various animals and plants to be put into such a system is required to learn all of their specific needs and products. Proper research should be done in smaller scale enclosures with regular records being kept. Just how difficult it is to produce a closed recycling life support system as originally planned for Biosphere 2 will be learned when the goal is accomplished.

It might not be an efficient way to proceed to try to learn everything about every plant and animal necessary for a recycling life support system. Some experiments with incompletely known combinations of plants animals and microbes can expand knowledge in this area. Already commercial organizations offer sorts of self-contained sealed aquariums.[3][4] These may be more entertainment than science but they suggest possibilities. Small scale experiments with some containment of some of the living species might yield results. Food, gasses, water, and nutrients could be transferred by experimenters with remotely controlled mechanisms. The amounts of substances needed to be added to make up for imperfect recycling and the amounts of waste products could be recorded. Whatever progress has been made in this area so far, there is a possibility of practical recycling to meet all of settlers needs on Mars. The requirement on Mars is not that of complete material closure, but getting by with only the materials that can be generated by industry from the atmosphere dirt and rocks of Mars. Success in producing such a system would be bigger news than the troubles that occurred in Biosphere 2.

The Melissa project of the ESA has been a small scale attempt to develop a small closed Ecology for space transportation.

There have been several simulated long duration space missions, most of which ran into problems with interpersonal relationships. In 2021 NASA is planning the CHAPEA missions to study this problem. [5]

Various Problems Encountered

Biosphere suffered from a number of problems. In no particular order:

--- Oxygen levels dropped quickly from curing concrete and from oxygen breathing bacteria. This made physical labour challenging.

--- There were insect species which grew out of control. These included ants and cockroaches.

--- Air conditioning was inadequate. It got very hot inside.

--- The team split into two factions, those who wished to continue as planned, and those who wanted to bring in materials from outside to make things better. This division grew more acrimonious as time went on and eventually ended the mission early.

References

  1. ↑ UASCIENCE Biosphere2
  2. ↑ Go to WayBackMachine enter: [http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general620.html] select 3 FEB 2010 for Trouble in the bio bubble
  3. ↑ Closed Ecosystems
  4. ↑ Self-Contained Underwater Ecosystems
  5. ↑ https://www.nasa.gov/chapea
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