In the news

Space Analog for the Moon and Mars
by Aaron Bugaj

In this episode we are joined by Kai Staats. Kai is a veteran developer, designer, filmmaker, and scientist. Kai is the Director of SAM, Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, here at Biosphere 2. SAM is a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed Mars habitat analog with greenhouse, living quarters, airlock, pressure suits, and a half acre Mars yard. Since 2021 Kai and his team have been constructing SAM, and just last month, SAM hosted it’s first two sealed missions, Inclusion 1 and Inclusion 2.

In this podcast, Kai takes us on his journey to build SAM. Breaking down the inspiration for SAM’s creation, and the research goals for SAM’s future.

Listen to the full interview via Spotify or Apple Podcast

We are proud to announce that the University of Arizona Biosphere 2 and SAM will host the third annual Analog Astronaut Conference, May 4-7, 2023. The theme is “How analog research can be applied to the UNSDG”. If this year’s event is anything like the one prior, it will prove to be yet another extraordinary assembly of extraordinary people with skills, experience, and stories from around the world shared in a common, stunning space.

Visit the Analog Astronaut Conference website and see you soon!

Kai Staats, Director of Research and lead developer of the SAM Mars Habitat at Biosphere 2 shared the latest updates for the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars at the Mars Society Conference 2022. Following Kai, Ezio Melotti, Lead Developer for the Scalable, Interactive Model of an Off-world Community provided an engaging, informative introduction to agent-based modeling, the SIMOC platform for research and education, and some of the goals of this unique project.

Mars Society
Arizona State University
Sunday, October 23
Morning Plenaries
Video: Kai at 1:30:30; Ezio at 2:02:40

Thank you Mars Society and for solid audience participation!

Life on Mars: Arizona startup simulates off-world habitats by Jeff Kronenfeld

Starting early next year, SAM will host a range of experiments on the technological and biological systems needed to sustain human life on other worlds. Teams of up to four crewmembers will live inside the facility for a few days to several weeks. They will use SIMOC to monitor their life support systems and possibly much more.

To read the full article, visit Newsbreak.com

We are proud to announce that the University of Arizona Biosphere 2 and SAM will host the second annual Analog Astronaut Conference, May 5-8, 2022. The theme is “Learning from Space to Improve Earth and Humanity” with an emphasis on How analog missions allow us to learn from Space to Improve Earth and Humanity.

Visit the Analog Astronaut Conference website and see you soon!

We are proud to announce that SIMOC is now live at the National Geographic Education Resource Library!

This marks three years to the day since the official launch of this project, funded for two years at Arizona State University and by the University of Arizona for a study at Biosphere 2. The simulator is a research grade computational model with an educational web interface, complete with grades 5-14, Next Generation Science Standards curriculum.

We thank Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Biosphere 2, Paragon Space Development Corporation, and Ray Wheeler, Don Henninger, and John Connolly at NASA for their commitment and support to bringing SIMOC to life.

Now, we invite you to dive into the complexity, challenge, and reward of designing your own habitat, and then learning if you can survive living on Mars!

Get started!

New computer platform for citizen scientists investigates potential closed-loop life support systems for Mars habitat.

Living off world will not be as simple as a science fiction movie. SIMOC — a new scalable interactive model of an off-world community — drives this home. The model is a pilot project from Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration Interplanetary Initiative.

A research-grade computer model and web interface for citizen scientists of all ages to design and operate a human habitat on the red planet, SIMOC is anything but a game. It was built on published data for mechanical life support systems (like those used on the International Space Station) and bioregeneration (sustaining human life with plants) with guidance from experts at NASA, Paragon Space Development, ASU and the University of Arizona.

Read the full article at ASU NOW

SIMOC project lead and principal developer of SAM Kai Staats will provide a one hour talk and live demo for the Life and Systems in Closed Worlds meeting at the Biosphere 2, December 11, 2019.

The French Centre National de la Recherche Scientique, ​the ​Ecole Normale Supérieure ​in Paris, Paris Sciences & Lettres University and its research program Origin and condition of Appearance of Life (OCAV), and the University of Arizona are jointly launching a new research initiative on Life and Systems in Closed Worlds involving social and natural scientists. This is an interdisciplinary initiative between ecologists, anthropologists, biologists, geochemists, space and planetary scientists, engineers, architects, and experts in robotics and AI. The goal is to tackle novel disciplinary and interdisciplinary questions arising from the study of closed living systems across multiple scales of space and time, from the small and short of micro-biospherics, through macro-systems such as Biosphere 2, Ecotrons or Bios, to the large and long of terraformation.

On behalf of the supporting institutions, the International Research Laboratory iGLOBES will convene a small group of experts to address interdisciplinary challenges arising from life and systems in closed worlds, and explore the potential for national and international collaborations. The meeting will be held at the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, 11-13 December 2019.

Download the full workshop description …