Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
Mark Nelson: With stilt walkers, with fireworks, there was a great dance troupe, Harlem. We had part of the cast of Cheers, that TV program, the Boston bar.
Elah: For Mark Nelson, it was a big night, and not just because he got to party with Woody Harrelson. This would be his last outing for a very long time. What are you feeling? Are you feeling anxious at all about the next morning, or?
Mark: Yeah. Well, I think more excited than anxious. I mean, to me, it was, you know, there was no way that this thing would fail.
Elah: This thing that could not fail? Biosphere 2, a nearly airtight glass complex in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, about an hour north of Tucson. The next morning, Mark and seven others would go inside, and if all went according to plan, they wouldn’t come out for another two years. I’m Elah Feder, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places.
This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.
