USA_SCI_BIOSPH_71_xs <br /> Biosphere 2 Project environmental research lab. Eating lunch of tilapia fish harvested from the Bioshphere 2 rice fields during a test phase prior to the sealing of the Biosphere.  Biosphere 2 was a privately funded experiment, designed to investigate the way in which humans interact with a small self-sufficient ecological environment, and to look at possibilities for future planetary colonization. The $30 million Biosphere covers 2.5 acres near Tucson, Arizona, and was entirely self- contained. The eight 'Biospherian's' shared their air- and water-tight world with 3,800 species of plant and animal life. The project had problems with oxygen levels and food supply, and has been criticized over its scientific validity. 1987
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