Biosphere Project

The eight human residents of Biosphere 2 lived inside the containment from September 26, 1991, to September 26, 1993, the longest period on record that humans have lived in an "isolated confined environment." The Biospherians experienced many difficulties, including an unusually cloudy year in the Arizona desert that stunted food crops, proliferation of some ant species, and unusual behavior by bees fooled by the glass walls. Columbia University took over the operation of the facility in 1996, a visitors' center was opened later in 1996, and Biosphere 2 has been maintained for study but without human inhabitants. The future of Biosphere 2 remains uncertain, but environmentalists and scientists hope to restart the project and to continue answering the questions and testing the environments envisioned initially.