Eight Go Mad in Arizona: How a Lockdown Experiment Went Horribly Wrong
Share
[aggregation-styles]
The Guardian It sounds like a sci-fi movie, or the weirdest series of Big Brother ever. Eight volunteers wearing snazzy red jumpsuits seal themselves into a hi-tech glasshouse that’s meant to perfectly replicate Earth’s ecosystems. They end up starving, gasping for air and at each other’s throats – while the world’s media looks on.
But the Biosphere 2 experiment really did happen. Running from 1991 to 1993, it is remembered as a failure, if it is remembered at all – a hubristic, pseudo-scientific experiment that was never going to accomplish its mission. However, as the new documentary Spaceship Earth shows, the escapade is a cautionary tale, now that the outside world – Biosphere 1, if you prefer – is itself coming to resemble an apocalyptic sci-fi world. Looking back, it’s amazing that Biosphere 2 even happened at all, not least because the people behind it started out as a hippy theatre group.
“Just the fact that the same number of people came out as went in is a triumph,” says Mark Nelson, one of the original eight “biospherians”.
Read More →
The Guardian It sounds like a sci-fi movie, or the weirdest series of Big Brother ever. Eight volunteers wearing snazzy red jumpsuits seal themselves into a hi-tech glasshouse that’s meant to perfectly replicate Earth’s ecosystems. They end up starving, gasping for air and at each other’s throats – while the world’s media looks on.
But the Biosphere 2 experiment really did happen. Running from 1991 to 1993, it is remembered as a failure, if it is remembered at all – a hubristic, pseudo-scientific experiment that was never going to accomplish its mission. However, as the new documentary Spaceship Earth shows, the escapade is a cautionary tale, now that the outside world – Biosphere 1, if you prefer – is itself coming to resemble an apocalyptic sci-fi world. Looking back, it’s amazing that Biosphere 2 even happened at all, not least because the people behind it started out as a hippy theatre group.
“Just the fact that the same number of people came out as went in is a triumph,” says Mark Nelson, one of the original eight “biospherians”.
Read More →
By Steve Rose | 13 July 2020
RELATED TOPICS:
Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins
Sports /
12 hours ago
Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home
Animals /
13 hours ago
Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk
Politics /
1 day ago
How a Real Estate Boom Drove Political Corruption in Los Angeles
Crime /
1 day ago
Palestinian TikTok Star Who Shared Details of Gaza Life Under Siege Is Killed by Israeli Airstrike
World /
1 day ago
49ers Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall Shot in Attempted Union Square Robbery
SAN FRANCISCO — 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot Saturday during an attempted robbery in central San Francisco, city authorities ...
SF 49ers /
8 mins ago
Categories
Latest
Videos
![Police officers secure the area and investigate the scene of a shooting at Union Square in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/31184052/piersall-shooting-1024x683.jpg)
SF 49ers /
8 mins ago
49ers Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall Shot in Attempted Union Square Robbery
![Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at an event in anticipation of signing a bill on his proposed oil profit penalty plan in Sacramento on March 28, 2023. (CalMatters/ Miguel Gutierrez Jr.)](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/31175839/newsom-big-oil.webp)
Economy /
46 mins ago
Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/16183042/Eagles-vs-49ers.jpg)
Sports /
12 hours ago
Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins
![A black poodle's face with his tongue sticking out](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/29135336/Rescued-from-an-abandoned-home-after-weeks-of-fending-for-himself-Adam-a-shy-but-sweet-poodle-mix-is-now-seeking-a-loving-forever-home.-Mells-Mutts-1024x538.jpg)
Animals /
13 hours ago
Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/28091346/082824-Lede-1024x576.jpg)
Housing /
3 days ago