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Biosphere 2’s SAM to become testing ground for next-generation space habitats

By Laine Kowalski, U of A Office of Research and Partnerships

At the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2, the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, better known as SAM, operates as a sealed habitat where air, water and food are measured and recycled as if it were far from Earth’s croplands and life-sustaining atmosphere.

SAM’s research informs the future of astronaut life-support systems while advancing a broader goal: positioning the facility as a critical testing ground for next-generation space habitats.

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Dwarf peas inside Biosphere 2’s SAM breathe new life into space habitat research
by Laine Kowalski, Office of Research and Partnerships, University of Arizona

“At the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2, a small, airtight habitat is yielding greater understanding about how humans might one day survive far beyond Earth and on Mars. For the past two weeks, one researcher lived sealed inside the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, or SAM, sharing his quarters with 144 dwarf pea plants.

The goal of the project was to measure how much carbon dioxide the pea plants could remove from the air and how much oxygen they could return in a closed system sustained only by sunlight, water and human breath.”

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Researcher exits sealed Biosphere 2 facility following two-week experiment
October 27, 2025, 5:00 PM MST

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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – For the first time in more than three decades, a human was sealed inside a Biosphere 2 facility with nothing but plants to clean the air.

Matthias Beach spent two weeks sealed in SAM, or the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, a 1,100 square-foot facility meant to simulate a spaceship.

“I can’t wait to do it again, believe it or not,” Beach said after exiting the pod.

The experiment monitored Beach’s carbon dioxide emissions. For the first week, he lived alongside 144 pea plants, which cleaned the air of CO2. During the second week, the plants were removed from the facility, theoretically increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.

While data hasn’t yet been analyzed, Beach said sensors showed an obvious increase in CO2 emissions once the plants were removed – something he noticed while living in the pod.

“You can definitely smell the difference and smell the humidity and smell the green in there, and without it, it seemed kind of like a spaceship,” Beach said.

The goal is to determine which plants are best suited to bring to space when we become an interplanetary species – making space travel as Earth-like as possible. “It provides, obviously, nutrients and calories. It also provides a means by which we can capture carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen, which happens around us every single day in the real world. And it provides a psychological benefit – people love working with plants,” said Kai Staats, the research director on the project.

Staats said this is just the start of years-long experimenting that will further their knowledge on how the future of space exploration may look. “When a human’s physiological patterns are slightly chaotic, that introduces a chaotic function to the system – we need to know that,” said Staats.

Beach said he’s just excited to be a part of something that might turn into something huge.

Copyright 2025 13 News. All rights reserved.

CORRECTION—in the video segment (top), the new anchor incorrectly states the mission was conducted inside of Biosphere 2; and the reporter states SAM is a “Space Analog for the Moon and Stars” but should be “Moon & Mars”.

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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