In the news

The Analog Astronaut Conference has enjoyed its fourth year at Biosphere 2. This assembly of artists, writers, innovators, engineers, teachers, researchers, do-it-yourselfers, medical professionals, and yes, people who have made it to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere and into orbit came together once again to share food, stories, science, and the warmth of direct conversations.

At a time when it seems the world is pushing everyone apart, it is comforting to be in the presence of people from so many countries—Armenia, Germany, Poland, England, Columbia, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Kenya, the United States and more—to receive the music of accents of a half dozen languages during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The subject matter of the talks ranged from diversity and inclusion in future human space travel to the science of CO2 scrubbers, from home-grown greenhouse structures built from repurposed water tanks to emotional intelligence as a tool for human interaction in the confines of an isolated habitat.

The SAM staff hosted three workshops:

• Basics of Wound Care and Suturing by David Wexler, MD and Dr Bindhu Oommen, MD
• Bioregenerative Life Support with Hydroponics by Atila Meszaros and Luna Powell
• A Mars Geology Tour by Dr. Christopher Hamilton and Tasha Coelho

The Wound Care workshop was hosted in the SAM Operations Center. The Hydroponics workshop was hosted in the SAM Test Module. And the Mars Geology workshop was hosted in the SAM Mars yard.

In addition, five SAM team members gave expert talks on a wide variety of subject matter:

• Kai Staats opened the conference with review of the past year at SAM and a look to the future as the SAM team transitions from construction into research for bioregeneration, air revitalization, and advanced medical care for long-duration missions far from Earth.
• Arizona State School of Earth and Space Exploration Planetary Geology undergraduate and SAM team member Tasha Coelho gave a talk about the current science investigations on Mars.
• Purdue graduate and new Mechanical Engineer at SAM Griffin Hentzen gave a talk about the new Experimental Air Revitalization Laboratory (EARL) room and carbon dioxide removal system being built at SAM.
• Bryan Versteeg, world-renowned space architect and member of the SAM team since 2019 gave a talk about his life’s work in helping envision the future of our species as we learn to live in free space and on the surface of the Moon and Mars.
• Thomas Hoffman of the new Surgical Bay Research Group at SAM (with David Wexler and Bindhu Oommen) gave a talk about the history and current state of aerospace medicine for spaceflight.

In an era defined by climate volatility and resource scarcity, researchers are developing crops that can survive — and thrive — under pressure.

One such innovation is the newly released tomato variety “Desert Dew” bred by Changbin Chen, associate professor in Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences. More than just a tomato, Desert Dew represents a leap forward in sustainable agriculture, optimized for rapid growth, nutrient density and adaptability to extreme environments.

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March 3, 2025
by Staff Sgt. Jaime Sanchez
Space Base Delta 1

SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. — In an ongoing NASA study set in the backdrop of Arizona, U.S. Space Force Spc. 4 William Wallace, 4th Space Operations Squadron payload engineer, was invited to further continue the science community’s understanding of extraterrestrial agriculture.

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The Analog Astronaut Conference will once again be held at the renowned Biosphere 2, for the fourth year in a row! This year’s theme, “Creating Community on Earth and Beyond”

May 1-4, Biosphere 2, Arizona USA

Get your tickets | Submit an abstract | Propose a workshop | Learn more …

We are aesthetic animals, and art is integrated to what we are and who we are. So, if that is the case and if we do research to understand what we are, then why don’t we integrate art into R1 science research in universities? The University of Arizona, College of Fine Arts Associate Research Dean, Ellen McMahon and her collaborators sent four artists to an analogue space mission in Biospehere2 in their Space Analog for the Moon and Mars . In this story, we will see what happens when artists enter a space habitat, that was designed for scientists.

Producer: Özlem Ayşe Özgür
Videographer: Danny Sax, Özlem Ayşe Özgür
Additional Videography: Arlene Islas
Editor: Robert Lindberg

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Life on Spaceships
Moral Repair: A Black Exploration of Tech

In this Episode Annanda and Keisha Explore The Big Question of, is it worth the expense to go to Mars given the needs on Earth? And what would it be like to live on Mars or in space? They interview Kai Staats, Director of Research for SAM at the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, to get the space tea.

Listen to the full interview …

Inside the Movement to Bring the Arts to Outer Space
Esquire
by Christopher Cokinos
May 16, 2024

This spring, a group of creatives simulated a lunar mission in the Arizona desert. What they found may challenge your understanding of how astronauts should spend their days.

[In] extreme environments like space, we should demand more than just enjoyment. The very things said from and about the moon can be strengthened with artistic technique. How we render the moon will either replicate our worst tendencies on Earth or foster a respect for the timeworn beauty of this companion world. From simulating living in a lunar habitat to talking with astronauts who will fly around the moon next year, I am obsessed with investigating how we can return to the moon to live and work while using the tools that artists know. Because those tools can help make life worth living.

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Once again, the Analog Astronaut Conference was a complete success.

This year, as with the prior two years held at Biosphere 2 and the first on-line, brought together a wonderful assembly of space exploration enthusiasts from all walks of life—aerospace engineers and artists, seasoned professionals and hobbyists, medical surgeons, astronomers, researchers, students and astronauts too.

The Biosphere 2 was once again proud to host this annual event. And the SAM staff worked hard to meet incredible construction goals in time for the conference attendees to enjoy their time at the new Mars yard and reduced gravity simulator.

Photos coming soon!

University of Arizona crew of professional artists completes simulated Moon mission
By Mikayla Mace Kelley, University of Arizona Communications
March 27, 2024

‘Those first couple steps were magical,’ says a dancer who explored the ways of understanding and sharing the experience of space travel and exploration through art. UA professor and SAM crew member of Imagination 1 Elizabeth George leaped into the air and lingered. When her feet finally touched down, she pushed up and spun three times before returning gently to Earth.

Such ballon – a term in dance meaning light-footedness – would normally be impossible on Earth, she said, especially while donning a roughly 20-pound, pressurized spacesuit. Her near weightlessness was the product of engineering that allowed her to feel what it might be like to pirouette on the moon.

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