The closest town to the ranch is Oracle, a 20 minute drive away. Situated in the foothills of north slope of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Oracle is well-known for Biosphere 2, a large-scale experimental apparatus housing seven model ecosystems. Its mission was a two-year closure experiment with a crew of eight humans (biospherians). Long-term it was seen as a precursor to gain knowledge about the use of closed biospheres in space colonization. In addition to housing Biosphere 2, Oracle is remote enough to have received an International Dark Sky Park designation in 2014 from the International Dark-Sky Association. Oracle is far enough away from light pollution for numerous celestial bodies to become visible. The town has some of the darkest nights in the continental United States.