Man-Made Closed Ecosystems-Instruments for Future Space Exploration by Man

Artificial, closed ecosystems are potentially useful tools with which to explore ecosystem interactions, allowing investigations of the biology, physiology and biophysics of complex communities. They can also be used to evaluate the long-term effects of environmental constituents that are usually present at very low concentrations. The introduction of humans into such systems extends their usefulness even further, allowing the study of the influence of the environment on people, and the effects of people on the environment. Because of the great potential of such systems in adding to human knowledge, and their considerable expense, it is appropriate that such activities be international studies. The Institute of Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Siberian Branch) has established, The International Research Center for Closed Ecosystems (Biospherics). It is located in Central Siberia near Krasnoyarsk on the Yenissei river, and is open to all interested investigators.