The space prototype colony Biosphere II shows high carbon dioxide levels. Biosphere II’s carbon dioxide level was more than that in the atmosphere but within safety standards, according to a report ...

Thirty years ago last month, on Sept. 26, 1993, a group of eight weary, visionary adventurers “returned” to Earth after two years of living together in a miniature version of our world — a ...

In the early 1990s, a small team tried to survive in a hermetically sealed space containing replicas of Earth's ecosystems. Their trials and discoveries still have repercussions today. Glittering in ...

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a new travel blog. Like us on Facebook, Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura. With dreams of colonizing Mars, John P. Allen, who made his millions in oil, funded the ...