Domestic Science

After 12 months of living on a diet heavily influenced by sweet potatoes our group of inhabitants of the Biosphere began to bear a distinct resemblance to the Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Of course, all of us noticed it amongst our colleagues but were, initially, too polite to draw attention to it and soon into the lifestyle experience too much at each others throats to even utilise it as a cruel observation or even as an insult.

We were, after all, far too busy just trying to survive in that glazed Terrarium which was intended to be the great practice event for humankind to live in an otherwise hostile environment as to be found on the Lunar surface, on Mars or, as it became increasingly evident on the parched and climate changed home planet Earth.

We had all been very excited to have been selected as the first 8 occupants.

Our respective specialisms covered most sciences where a practical application could help to sustain life in a hermetically sealed glass bubble.

We had all signed up for and in the true spirit of the strictly "No Leave for the Duration" programme but in the full knowledge that those overseeing the 24 month stay would not let us die from starvation, asphyxiation or in the event of an accident or life threatening illness.

The habitat itself was a dream world, a fantastic combination of a tropical rainforest, a beach with an offshore reef, a savannah, swampy marsh and a fog desert.

These were representations of natural physical forms on Earth and would be studied for their performance and resilience in the artificially induced atmosphere in the dome.

Our own living quarters were comfortable and spacious and we did not want for any of the material comforts that we had been used to in the outside world.

In theory and prolonged computer modelling everything in this interconnected existence would function adequately but then again if those running the simulations had come across fatal errors or the possibility of failure then would they have admitted to it before we went in through the sealed airlock?

Our emergence in sound mind and body after the 2 years in isolation would be quite a relief I expect to our Overlords.

The flow diagram which was the key to the success or otherwise of the Biosphere was simple in the extreme.

We, as humans tended the plants who in return produced oxygen and then benefitted from our own exhaled carbon dioxide to complete that particular circle of life.

We had a small farmstead of livestock comprising goats, pigs and chickens. These were relied upon not just for milk in the case of the goats and as a source of protein but were essential bio-digesters of waste food and of the parts of the cultivated crops that we could not ourselves make use of.

Other more exotic co-habitees were species of insects, lizards, snakess and tortoises. These gave authenticity to the eco-system around us.

One of the things missing was the presence of larger ruminants which would just consume too many of our scarce resources and consequently one of our human tasks was to maintain and harvest the grasses on the savannah.

All of the usual activities of Earth seasons were in slow motion and had to be very deliberate in that bubble of a place. 

I personally regarded the making of a pizza as one of my own greatest achievements as the process took 4 months from planting and nurturing the wheat for the flour based dough, making goats cheese for the topping and growing the other Margherita toppings to reach the table. That was a defining moment for all of us although an eighth of a ten inch main meal did not really assuage our hunger.

That was a key sensation- always being hungry.

There was no opportunity to just pop out to the shops for a snack or binge out of the fridge in our enclosed world.

The combination of losing weight and sleeping fitfully put us all in a state of severe stress with each other. At least with all of those different eco-settings we could each of us claim a territory as our own exclusive space.

We had been so taken up with the science that we had neglected to take into account the social, inter-personal and mental health aspects of our self imposed seclusion. Even in a small group, be it a family or like out Octet, a disparate but common grounded lot there will always be politics, a power struggle, allegiances and rifts.

I laugh now at the adage that "if it doesn't kill you it must be good for you" or something along the same lines.

Yes, there were quite dramatic die-backs in the crops and vegetation.

The water in our ocean started to acidify.

There were fluctuations in temperature and humidity which were unexpected.

Alarmingly, our biosphere was losing its naturally produced oxygen but we could not grasp how.

Like Tupperware we were a sealed container and yet some 7 tons of life sustaining atmosphere had, well..... disappeared.

This began to have consequences for our health particularly sleep apnea. Our life support system was obviously failing.

We eventually deduced that the concrete sub-structure of our glass world was absorbing oxygen.

We felt complete frauds and pretenders when our external supervisors made the decision, by then quite easy, to pump in extra oxygen.

However, the volume of practical knowledge derived from our 2 year experiment surpassed expectations and as we vacated into the brighter and in comparison much more volatile and unpredictable outside world that tinge of disappointment seemed to fade away.

(an adapted tale based on a TED Talk by Jane Poynter, an original 1991 occupant of Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert)