Biospherian Abigail Alling, 32, a Yale-educated marine biologist, broke down during the emotional send-off but recovered her composure as she and Dr. Roy Walford followed the six others into the sprawling terrarium.; After two tries, the main passage to the outside slammed shut Thursday morning.; At midmorning, after a half-hour getting accustomed to their new situation, the eight told project officials that each was about to begin work in his or her respective "biome," or ecosystem. The Biosphere has a growing area as well as wilderness rain forest, marsh, mini-ocean, African savanna and desert.; What the Biosphere residents find out over the next 24 months, proponents say, will help to understand the workings of nature and the possibilities of living in artificial atmospheres in outer space.; They will recycle their air, water and waste, and live off a half-acre of land and from plants grown in tanks of water infused with nutrients. If french fries are on the menu, peanuts would have to be uprooted and pressed for cooking oil and spuds harvested and peeled.; The eight researchers are all single, and there is no prohibition against sex. This has led to more than a little speculation in nearby Oracle, a 111-year-old community of 6,000, many of them copper miners and retirees.; "I told Laser (the nickname for Biospherian Mark Van Thillo), 'You're in there two years and I'll bet you $5 you'll come out with two kids,' " said Larry Springfield, 45, a locksmith on the project and manager of Maria's, an Oracle saloon. "He said, 'Four.' "
After years of preparation, four men and four women Thursday shut the door on the world they hope to aid and began two years of ecological research in Biosphere II, an airtight, three-acre structure of glass and steel that has stirred controversy as well as awe. The experiment is a microcosm for how humans can live sustainably with nature, said David Suzuki, Canada's environmental minister. They will recycle their air, water and waste, and live off a half-acre of land and plants grown in tanks of water fused with nutrients, seeking possibilities of living in artificial atmospheres in outer space.