The Strangest Scientific Experiment That Turned into a Nightmare

In the early 1990s, scientists attempted to create a closed ecological system for humans to live in, completely self-sustained from the rest of the world. This ambitious undertaking was known as Biosphere 2, a glass dome complex in Arizona that housed eight people for a month-long mission in 1994. However, the experiment was far from successful, with the crew members struggling to survive and ultimately needing help from the outside world.

The team of eight, called the "biospherians," were locked inside Biosphere 2 between 1991 and 1993, living in a mini-world with over 3,000 species of plants and animals. Their goal was to be completely self-sufficient, growing their own food and breathing their own air, all while being cut off from the outside world.

At the beginning of the experiment, the biospherians were optimistic, filled with high hopes and a five-star hotel-style breakfast. However, things quickly took a darker turn as the months went on. The crew found themselves struggling with hunger, as crop yields were a total disappointment. They were going crazy from hunger, and moments of sudden anger led to regrettable actions, like stealing bananas from the basement store room.

Over the course of the first six months, each of the crew members lost between 18 and 58 pounds of weight. Every day, someone would weigh out fresh food for the cook, logging the information about nutrients into the computer to make sure the crew hit their recommended calorie, protein, and fat goals. Initially, meals were served buffet-style, but as the crew got hungrier, the cooks started to meticulously divide their food into equal portions. Their diet mostly consisted of sweet potatoes, carrots, fruits, and occasional meat on Sundays.

The atmosphere inside Biosphere 2 was also a major problem. The entire place was completely sealed with steel and glass, with managers ensuring that everything entering was free from synthetic materials emitting harmful gases. Living areas were furnished with wood and wool, and the crew couldn't use chemical deodorants or blow out birthday candles. While the biospherians were counting on the food they grew and their many rainforests to produce enough oxygen for them to survive, they were losing oxygen very fast, drowning in their own carbon dioxide emissions.

With another nine months of the experiment to go, oxygen levels had dropped from 21% to around 15%, which feels like living at the top of Mount Fuji. The crew felt awful, basically dragging themselves around the biosphere. They couldn't even finish a sentence without stopping to catch their breath. Then, sleep apnea kicked in, with some of them waking up gasping for air.

To bring down the carbon levels inside Biosphere 2, the crew tried some desperate moves, like growing plants like crazy, cutting back on watering the soil as much as possible, and even giving up on tilling. But nothing worked, so everyone decided they had hit a dangerously low point and asked for help. Refrigerated trucks showed up to pump more pure oxygen into Biosphere 2. As soon as the gas started flowing in, they burst out laughing and began running around.

However, the ecosystem was a total mess. Hummingbirds and honeybees vanished after a couple of months, so plants weren't getting pollinated anymore. Worms and broad mites attacked crops, and cockroaches just took over. Four species of cockroaches were brought inside to recycle organic matter, but the regular household cockroach was the ultimate survivor. They somehow sneaked in and multiplied, becoming a serious threat to crops. At night, the kitchen got flooded with cockroaches as soon as the lights went out.

In 1994, two silhouettes were seen opening the emergency exits of Biosphere 2, determined to free the seven people locked inside for a month, risking their lives in the name of science. The mission was accomplished, but the vandals were hit with trespassing and vandalism charges. The vandals were Abigail Aen and Mark Vanello, two of the first eight people to live in Biosphere 2 as guinea pigs. They didn't want anyone else to go through the same horrors they had experienced.

Despite its failure, Biosphere 2 was still a groundbreaking experiment, attempting to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for humans. The lessons learned from this experiment were invaluable, as we continue to explore the possibilities of living on other planets like Mars.