Biosphere 2 Tests Pea Plants for Mars Life Support
A two-week sealed-habitat experiment at the University of Arizona measured how dwarf pea plants affect carbon dioxide and oxygen levels.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Botany
In October 2025, University of Arizona researchers ran a two-week experiment in Biosphere 2 using 144 dwarf pea plants inside the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars. Mattias Beach played the astronaut role, and the plants were harvested on Day 8 and compared with a control week without plants.
Why it matters
The experiment is the first bio-regenerative life support test with human participation in Biosphere 2 since 1994, and it tests whether plants can help supply air and food for long-duration space missions. Results inform how mission planners might size plant-based systems for astronauts.
The evidence is sensor-based carbon dioxide monitoring across four chambers of the SAM testing unit, comparing the planted week to a control week without plants. The measured values and the size of any change have not been detailed in the available extraction.
The players
University of Arizona
The public research university operates Biosphere 2 and led the experiment through its Controlled Environment Agriculture Center.
Biosphere 2
The large sealed research facility in Arizona is used to study closed ecological systems relevant to space habitats.
Mattias Beach
Beach played the astronaut role in the sealed-habitat experiment and predicted that someone would reach Mars within the next 30 to 40 years.
The details
Dwarf plants were chosen because they yield many seeds in a small footprint, while a regular pea plant can reach two meters. In the first week, the plants used carbon dioxide from Beach's breath through photosynthesis to produce oxygen and carbohydrates, while hydroponic racks automated water, light and nutrient delivery; graduate student Atila Meszaros managed the racks with guidance from the University of Arizona's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center.
Timeline
October 2025: Two-week pea plant experiment conducted in Biosphere 2.
Day 8: Beach harvested the plants on the morning of the eighth day.
October 27, 2025: World's Biggest Analog mission concluded.
Roadmap
The experiment revives human-participation bio-regenerative testing at Biosphere 2 that had not been run since 1994. It sits within the broader effort to build plant-based life support for Moon and Mars missions.
Findings from closed-habitat plant testing could shape how future space missions size their food and air systems. For Tucson residents, the work is tied to the University of Arizona's research and to the Biosphere 2 facility in the region.
The takeaway
Small-scale plant experiments in sealed habitats are a practical step toward knowing how many plants and how much growing area astronauts would need. Readers following space food research can track how the open-access 22-crop database is used by mission planners.
Further reading
For more on the plant science behind this work, explore Botany coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Hindustan Times.
