Plan Your Visit
Welcome to biosphere 2.
The world's largest controlled environment dedicated to understanding the impacts of climate change.
In the News
U of a research looks at how solar energy in agricultural areas increases production for both.
World-Class Research
World class research.
Discover how we're answering the world's most complex questions of today and tomorrow about sustainability, environmental conservation and our impact on our planet.
Education Programs
Learn how Biosphere 2's education programs and outreach impact everyone from the seasoned graduate student to the curious kindergartener.
NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
Apply today.
The World's Largest Earth Science Experiment
Discover the world in a 3.14-acre laboratory with active research systems spanning from ocean to desert environments and so much more.
Dive into the Ocean
We’ve gone headfirst into revitalizing our ocean system to be a premier research space for coral reef restoration. Learn about the revitalization process that’s currently taking place.
Take Shelter in the Rain Forest
We know that rain forest plants have a lot to tell us about the world’s ecosystem. We use this system to listen carefully and inform integral changes to adapt to climate change.
Discover the Desert
Our desert is uniquely set apart from the Sonoran desert that houses it. Designed to simulate an arid desert scrub ecosystem, the Biosphere 2 desert brings the coastal desert experience to you.
Get Lost Among the Mangroves
Take a trip to the tropics with our mangroves at Biosphere 2. This system allows us to look closely at two key types of wetlands and put plans to action for restoring these systems in the wild.
Uncover History in the Savanna
Explore the savanna and learn the history of how this system served as a hydrological transition zone designed to balance atmospheric chemistry between two uniquely different environments: the desert and the rain forest.
Experience Biosphere 2
Keep Exploring
Buy Tickets
Plan Your Trip
Traverse the World of Biosphere 2
Explore our facility at your own pace with the Biosphere 2 tour app. Get access to rich history, never-before-seen photos, and a deep understanding of current research initiatives and their potential impact, all while staying socially distant and safe among other visitors.
Connect with us on Social Media
Connect with us on Instagram to see what is going on at Biosphere 2.
Connect with us on YouTube to learn more about our research initiatives.
Subscribe now
Interact with us on TikTok to learn more about Biosphere 2 science & history.
Follow along
Sign Up for Our Newsletter
Get our Inside the Impact e-newsletter delivered to your inbox every month to stay connected, get the latest announcements, and receive exclusive, inside knowledge of what’s new at Biosphere 2!
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Its mission was a two-year closure experiment with a crew of eight humans. Long-term it was seen as a precursor to gaining knowledge about the use of closed biospheres in space colonization. As an experimental ecological facility it allowed the study and manipulation of a mini biospheric system without harming Earth's biosphere.…
In its half-acre rain forest, scientists are probing how tropical ecosystems might weather late-21st-century heat and drought. Soon researchers hope to experiment with radical coral reef ...
Engineers and scientists design biodomes to study ecosystems by modeling how living and nonliving things interact in their natural environments. …
Biosphere 2, the greatest experiment ever conducted in ecological self-organization, revolutionized the field of experimental ecology. We proved that a sealed ecosystem can work for years, a lesson Mars colony planners can build …
The World's Largest Earth Science Experiment. Discover the world in a 3.14-acre laboratory with active research systems spanning from ocean to desert environments and so much more.
On Sept. 26, 1991, a grand experiment began. Eight people were locked in the giant terrarium, Biosphere II, to live without physical contact with the outside world for two years.
Soviet scientists, investigating ways to keep cosmonauts alive in space, lived for up to six months in experimental chambers where they breathed oxygen from algae and ate …