Crew to be sealed in pressurized habitat at Biosphere 2

A six-day Inclusion I mission has begun at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2, in which a four-person crew will be locked in an air-tight, pressurized habitat called the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, or SAM.

Biosphere 2 researchers designed and built SAM – with support from the university's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, Paragon Space Development Corporation and NASA – to serve as an experimental prototype of a fully enclosed system to inform how future humans might live and work in space.

"Thirty years ago, eight people sealed themselves inside Biosphere 2 for two years," said Kai Staats, Director of Research for SAM at Biosphere 2. "For the first time since, a crew will seal themselves inside of an analog habitat at this historic location. On the moon, there is no atmosphere; on Mars, it's thin and toxic to humans, so humans will be living in completely sealed, self-sustaining environments. To prepare for the challenges and understand those complex systems, we first have to practice here on Earth. SAM builds upon the science conducted at Biosphere 2 with modern technology and equipment to inform the future of space exploration."

The SAM habitat is nearly 1,200ft2 and combines the Biosphere 2 prototype Test Module greenhouse with living facilities, including a workshop, kitchen, common area and sleeping quarters. The greenhouse includes hydroponic growing environments with controlled lighting, humidity, heating and cooling. A carbon dioxide scrubber and life support system will provide clean air for the crew.

An airlock leads to a half-acre Mars yard where the crew will test pressure suits, rovers and drones like those that might be used on the rugged terrains of the moon and Mars.

The principal research goals for SAM include demonstrating the transition from machine-based to plant-based life support, maintaining food crops in a sealed greenhouse, studying the microbiome of a sealed environment, using tools when conducting extra-vehicular activity while wearing a full pressure suit, and developing a high-fidelity computer model to help design near-future, other-world habitats.

About a dozen physical simulations of space habitats exist globally, but no others are sealed, pressurized experiments, Staats added.

"We are the only active, air-tight and pressurized analog with a greenhouse in the world today," Staats said. "This is important because every breath we take releases carbon dioxide and moisture, which is in turn used by plants to create oxygen. To actually live on another world, we must develop systems that can sustain human life for long duration with the minimal, external support."

Teams can apply to use the SAM research facility to conduct their approved science objectives. Inclusion I is the first to do so.

"Inclusion I is a unique, dynamic team that includes a cardiologist, Blue Origin aerospace engineer, linguist professor and award-winning photographer," Staats said. "In addition, one of the crew is blind, which will add to the challenge and reward of their science-driven mission. They will be conducting more than a dozen experiments in air and water quality, soundscapes, food study, psychology and wellness."