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History of Biosphere 2

nytimes.com

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Re: History of Biosphere 2

#21

Post by LifeLiverTransp »

jayess wrote: post #12
nobody_nowhere wrote: post #4

I toured the facility around 2005-6 (iirc). Looks like you still can. It had a futuristic and lightly post-apocalyptic vibe. The jungle plants were growing out of control, pressing up against the glass panes of one of the habitats. Ants streamed in and out from the desert outside through a crack in a glass panel. If you check it out ( http://biosphere2.org/visit/tour-schedule-hours ), you can have a full post-apocaly…

I highly recommend the ICBM museum in Tuscon. They go through the entire launch process for the tour. It takes less than a minute. It's quite something to imagine that within that short period, the end of civilization would be guaranteed.

I still liked the old launch procedures where people where involved and no hyper sonic missiles. Back then, some guy could step back and say - "Okay, its all fucked, so why should i drop one more rock at some poor town in nowheristan?" and give those after us a living chance by behaving reasonable. Today that wont happen, and the machines are that much more likely to just MCAS kill us via a design failure.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#22

Post by cowmix »

My company provided the first Internet connection for Biosphere 2 in the 1995 timeframe. This was right after the bust, they were taken over by Columbia University. At the time I took a tour of most of the complex and it had a very weird, abandoned feel to it. FWIW, most of the systems that monitored / controlled everything there (like Jurassic Park) were ran on HPUX.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#23

Post by robdachshund »

cowmix wrote: post #22

My company provided the first Internet connection for Biosphere 2 in the 1995 timeframe. This was right after the bust, they were taken over by Columbia University. At the time I took a tour of most of the complex and it had a very weird, abandoned feel to it. FWIW, most of the systems that monitored / controlled everything there (like Jurassic Park) were ran on HPUX.

Jurassic Park was SGI IRIX.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#24

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

jedberg wrote: post #16
pram wrote: post #14

I took a tour of Biosphere 2 when I was young. I remember the guide talking about two specific problems they didn't anticipate that dramatically altered the outcome of the experiment: The 'domes' are supported by a metal lattice framework. That structure actually blocked too much sun and created extra shade which affected the plant growth. The concrete used in the construction was sucking up carbon dioxide and changi…

My favorite failure mode was that the trees started to fall over under their own weight when they got too tall, because there was no wind inside the dome. As they learned, wind is essential for trees because they must grow stronger trunks in reaction to the wind, and the wind helps blow off parts of the tree that aren't strong enough.

Interesting that this needed re-learning. Anyone who has grown seedlings indoors observes similar.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#25

Post by jasonwatkinspdx »

maxxxxx wrote: post #17
pram wrote: post #14

I took a tour of Biosphere 2 when I was young. I remember the guide talking about two specific problems they didn't anticipate that dramatically altered the outcome of the experiment: The 'domes' are supported by a metal lattice framework. That structure actually blocked too much sun and created extra shade which affected the plant growth. The concrete used in the construction was sucking up carbon dioxide and changi…

This just shows that we have to do a lot of tedious testing before there is a chance to go to Mars. Even pretty innocent looking things can cause huge problems that can’t be anticipated beforehand

I always get downvoted to oblivion for pointing this out, but the Elon Musk hype squad is just not being realistic about how far we are from establishing a permanent colony on mars. Severe issues remain.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#26

Post by daoxid »

RickJWagner wrote: post #3

It would make for a great sci-fi movie plot. Or another round of similar experiments. Or both.

The Terranauts by T.C. Boyle is heavily inspired by the Biosphere 2 experiment. It contains a lot of gossip and petty behavior, and a lot of people seem to find the plot overall boring, but I still liked it. (I simply find the premise fascinating, and I think Boyle captures the atmosphere of people living closely together in a locked space well.)

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#27

Post by gryfft »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #25
maxxxxx wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just shows that we have to do a lot of tedious testing before there is a chance to go to Mars. Even pretty innocent looking things can cause huge problems that can’t be anticipated beforehand

I always get downvoted to oblivion for pointing this out, but the Elon Musk hype squad is just not being realistic about how far we are from establishing a permanent colony on mars. Severe issues remain.

A Mars colony is something humanity should start thinking seriously about once we successfully run a production-grade lunar colony for about a decade-- long enough to recognize and tackle the worst bugs.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#28

Post by maxxxxx »

gryfft wrote: post #27
jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always get downvoted to oblivion for pointing this out, but the Elon Musk hype squad is just not being realistic about how far we are from establishing a permanent colony on mars. Severe issues remain.

A Mars colony is something humanity should start thinking seriously about once we successfully run a production-grade lunar colony for about a decade-- long enough to recognize and tackle the worst bugs.

True. On moon you still have a chance to quickly send some new parts which you can’t do on mars.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#29

Post by JoeAltmaier »

gryfft wrote: post #27
jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always get downvoted to oblivion for pointing this out, but the Elon Musk hype squad is just not being realistic about how far we are from establishing a permanent colony on mars. Severe issues remain.

A Mars colony is something humanity should start thinking seriously about once we successfully run a production-grade lunar colony for about a decade-- long enough to recognize and tackle the worst bugs.

Heck how about a colony on top of Mt Everest? Its actually more congenial there, than on Mars. And a hell of a lot closer.

Re: History of Biosphere 2

#30

Post by maxxxxx »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #29
gryfft wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Mars colony is something humanity should start thinking seriously about once we successfully run a production-grade lunar colony for about a decade-- long enough to recognize and tackle the worst bugs.

Heck how about a colony on top of Mt Everest? Its actually more congenial there, than on Mars. And a hell of a lot closer.

An autonomous station in Antarctica or maybe the Atacama desert would probably be pretty realistic.
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