Shocking details of the experiment "Biosphere 2", which was carried out by the Americans in the Arizona desert
The other day, after a yearlong (!) Expedition to the ISS, a Russian-American crew consisting of Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly returned to Earth. Neither Roscosmos nor NASA concealed that this long-term mission was nothing more than a rehearsal of a flight to Mars. According to calculations, the dispatch of an assault force to the Red Planet may take place within the next 15-20 years. The flight of Kelly and Kornienko was supposed to answer the main question: is it possible to protect the organism of astronauts from cosmic radiation during a 15-month flight to a neighboring planet? At the end of the annual mission, the doctors reported that they had solved this problem. So the path to colonization of the Moon and Mars is open? But it's not that simple. As soon as the astronauts leave the orbit of the Earth, they can lie in wait for dangers that scientists are now unable to calculate. The famous experiment "Biosphere-2", which took place in the USA in the early 90s, became a vivid illustration of this topic.
"BIOSPHERE-2" IS THIS NOT "HOUSE-2" FOR YOU ?
Billionaire enthusiast Edward Baas spent $ 200 million to create a closed ecological system in the Arizona desert. The purpose of the experiment: to understand whether a person can live in an artificially created environment. The grandiose experiment was staged with an eye to the colonization of Mars or the creation of shelters on Earth in the event of a global ecological disaster.
"Biosphere-2" consisted of pavilions with different climatic zones (tropical forest, desert, ocean, savannah, mangrove thickets), it was inhabited by more than three thousand representatives of flora and fauna. And the crew of the completely sealed giant capsule consisted of top-class scientists, this is not Dom-2 for you! When the experiment began, many thought that the colonists were leaving for a 2-year paradise vacation. However, the eight scientists had to balance on the brink of life and death.
In one of the project pavilions.
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Photo: University of Arizona
WE Ate OURSELVES
At first, the colonists were carried away exclusively by experiment.
“It was only then that I realized for the first time that I was a part of the biosphere,” Jane Poynter said. “And these are not abstract words at all. The carbon dioxide I exhaled was absorbed by the sweet potato leaves. We ate so much sweet potato that in the end my skin turned orange from it. And the carbon from that sweet potato became a part of me again. You could say I ate the same carbon over and over again. Basically, I ate myself.
A few weeks after the start of the experiment, it was found that the oxygen content in the atmosphere of the capsule for some unknown reason is falling. And after a few months, oxygen starvation should come. Subsequently, it turned out that the designers did not take into account that a large amount of oxygen would be absorbed by bacteria, which turned out to be very abundant in the specially imported fertile soil. In addition, oxygen reacted with the concrete cladding inside the Biosphere and deposited on the walls as calcium carbonate.
The colonists could count on being saved by green lungs - trees from the tropical zone. In addition, they planted every piece of land with fast-growing plants to increase photosynthesis. But another puncture was discovered by the creators of the complex. They did not foresee such a phenomenon as the wind. And without regular rocking, tree trunks became fragile and brittle. Periodically, the green trees for which the scientists prayed fell with a crash, breaking everything around …
Due to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide, the death of animals began. Most of the inhabitants of the farm died out, all pollinating insects disappeared. But ants and cockroaches were bred in incredible quantities.
Sixteen months after the start of the experiment, the oxygen level dropped so much that people began to suffocate at night, when the production of oxygen by plants stops due to darkness. During the day, they experienced a state of chronic apathy and fatigue. At one point, doctor Roy Walford found himself unable to add two two-digit numbers in his mind. Only then did the colonists request help from the Big Earth and, contrary to the conditions of the experiment, they began to pump oxygen under the dome.
AND HERE THE DIRECTOR FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SPATED IN MY FACE
Famine was another shocking event for the crew. One day, the manager of the farm, Jane Poynter, admitted that their entire agricultural complex can provide the colony with food only 83 percent of the planned diet. These calculations appeared to her several months before the start of the project, but doctor Roy Walford persuaded Jane to keep quiet about his fears.
The fact is that Walford developed a theory of life extension based on restricting calorie intake (provided that the body, nevertheless, receives all the vital substances). And, taking this opportunity, the doctor wanted to conduct his own experiment within the framework of the "Biosphere-2" project. His laboratory mice, which had been cut in calories by 50 percent, lived twice as long. But with people everything turned out to be much more complicated …
In the first year, the colonists lost an average of 16-18 percent in weight. That is, they lost almost a fifth of their body weight. After the theft of bananas from the pantry (no one admitted to the "crime"), the grocery store was locked. The doctor, however, triumphed: medical tests proved that the patients' cholesterol levels decreased, blood pressure stabilized, metabolism and the immune system improved. Men and women have become younger and their health indicators have improved.
Constant hunger, plus a lack of oxygen, had a dramatic effect on team relationships. The colonists began to feel open enmity towards each other. Some categorically refused outside help, referring to the purity of the experiment and concealed from the Big Earth the problems that arose at the station. Others, led by Jane Poynter, believed that the experiment would not lose anything if they stopped torturing them and helped with food and oxygen.
“I once cleaned the animal pens on a farm,” Poynter recalls. - There was nothing to breathe and I felt very bad. At that moment, footsteps were heard. I turned around and saw Abigail Ayling. She had something in her mouth. Before I could say anything, she spat in my face. I was taken aback and could only ask: "For what?" Abigail snapped: "You yourself know!" And walked away …
The team was still able to complete the experiment. Although they had to cut open the emergency food supply and pump in additional oxygen. In the conditions of a flight to Mars or the colonization of the Red Planet, this trick no longer worked. People would have died, because there was no one to help.
“Biosphere 2” is a good warning lesson for the organizers of future expeditions. Our world is very fragile. And in order to create a copy of the Earth on another planet, one must become like the Creator himself.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
- September 26, 1991 - the beginning of the experiment. A team of 8 participants had to live for 2 years in an artificially created biosystem, absolutely isolated from the outside world.
- November-December 1991. Scientists have found that oxygen levels in the atmosphere begin to decline at a rate of 0.5% per month. The colonists began to intensively grow biomass to raise the oxygen content in the air, but their efforts were in vain.
- January 1992. A food crisis loomed before the colonists. Rice crops were destroyed by pests. The buffet was canceled, rations were introduced. Their energy value was 1,700 calories per person per day. That is not enough for people engaged in hard physical labor.
- April-May 1992. As a result of constant conflicts, the team was divided into 2 warring groups. 4 people, led by Jane Poynter, insisted on accepting outside help. The other half of the crew were categorically against violating the purity of the experiment.
- November 1992. The inhabitants of Biosphere 2, suffering from hunger, have opened emergency food supplies. Jane Poynter notified the project management about this. She was immediately fired and ordered to leave the experiment area, but Jane refused to do so.
- By January 1993, the oxygen level dropped from 21% to 14.2%. This gas concentration is observed in the mountains at an altitude of 4080 meters. People began to experience severe oxygen deprivation. The project management decided to secretly pump 23 tons of oxygen into the "Biosphere".
- May-July 1993. The colonists managed to grow a good harvest with a total weight of over a ton. This allowed an increase in caloric intake and people partially compensated for the significant weight loss that was observed in the first year.
- September 26, 1993 - the end of the experiment.
RESOURCES
The new Robinsons had 1.27 hectares of agricultural land. They grew bananas, papayas, sweet potatoes, beets, peanuts, beans, rice, wheat and other crops.
The livestock farm inhabited: 4 goats and 1 goat; 35 laying hens and 3 roosters; 2 sows and 1 boar. In addition, the colonists had their own fish farm: they bred unpretentious tilapia fish.
COMMAND
Group A *
- Sally Silverstone, 36 Colony captain, agricultural expert. Solved organizational issues.
- Mark Van Tillo, 30 Colony captain, professional mechanic. Responsible for technical issues
- Abigail Ayling, 31 Oceanologist, Director of Scientific Research.
- Mark Nelson, 44 Responsible for irrigation and sewage systems. PR director of the project, kept in touch the inhabitants of the "Biosphere" with the outside world.
Group B *
- Jane Poynter, 29 Specialist in intensive agriculture. She managed the farm, provided the colony with food.
- Taber McCallum, 27 Technical assistant.
- Linda Leigh, 39 Botanist, her area of responsibility is the flora of "Biosphere".
- Roy Walford, 67 Team doctor.
* the colonists split into these two warring camps when faced with hunger and lack of oxygen.
Yaroslav KOROBATOV