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A week before eight scientists were sealed into Biosphere 2, the 3.15-acre glass-enclosed terrarium north of Tucson, Az, in September 1991, the press was invited inside for a farewell peek at the "human habitat." Knowing that Biospherian Jane Poynter was about to be locked inside for a two-year "voyage," one travel writer jokingly asked, "What are you doing next week?" Poynter's reply was a broad smile.
Biosphere 2's relations with the rest of the news media have been less friendly. For most of 1991 and 1992 the press seemed to delight in slamming the $150-million scientific experiment and tourist attraction. LIFE magazine called it "weird science." The Tucson Citizen asked, "Is it science?" And the TV networks aired unflattering reports on Space Biospheres Ventures (SBV), the company that built and manages the research complex.
Before the "closure," The New York Times, Discover magazine and other news organizations had focused their reports on the scientific nature of the project. But the tone of the press coverage began to sour in April 1991 after an article by Marc Cooper appeared in The Village Voice, a New York City weekly. Cooper argued that Biosphere 2 was not run by scientists, but rather by members of a strange "cult."
The private experiment started with much hoopla....