Rocky L. Stewart

Biosphere 2 (Earth being Biosphere 1) is an experiment in closed system ecology. It is a steel and glass structure about the size of three football fields and has a volume of more than three million cubic feet. The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the viability of materially closed ecosystems—a sort of bioregenerative life support system—where water, air, and food are recycled. Later this year, eight people, called Biospherians, will be sealed inside Biosphere 2 for two years with only power and information being exchanged with the outside. A major part of this project is an expert system-based environmental control and monitoring system called the “Nerve System.”