Closed ecological systems are self-regulating biological processes in which matter cycles internally with minimal or no exchange of material with the external environment, while energy transfer (typically light or heat) may still occur. These systems integrate biogeochemical cycles, primary production, respiration, decomposition, and microbial nutrient recycling to maintain homeostasis of gases, water, and essential elements. Biological processes within closed ecological systems include autotrophic carbon fixation, trophic energy transfer, symbiotic interactions, and feedback-regulated population dynamics, all constrained by finite resource pools and carrying capacity. Such systems are studied to understand ecosystem resilience, stability, and the functional coupling of biological and physicochemical processes under strictly bounded conditions.
As the U.S. plans to return to the moon with the upcoming Artemis II mission, a question endures: What will future lunar explorers eat? According to new research from The University of Texas at Austin, the answer might be ...
Astrobiology
Mar 5, 2026
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Dining on the moon or Mars might seem like a fantasy reserved for science fiction, but researchers are investigating how it could become a reality. Their efforts to recycle plant and human waste into a fertilizer material—turning ...
Astrobiology
Feb 25, 2026
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Thinking about food systems in deep space likely brings to mind something like The Martian where an astronaut is scratching barely enough food to survive out of potatoes grown in Martian regolith. Or perhaps a fancy hydroponic ...
Space Exploration
Feb 25, 2026
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It's an age-old debate in space circles: Should humanity's first city on another world be built on the moon, or on Mars? As recently as last year, SpaceX founder Elon Musk saw missions to the moon as a "distraction." In a ...
Space Exploration
Feb 21, 2026
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If humans want to live in space, whether on spacecraft or the surface of Mars, one of the first problems to solve is that of water for drinking, hygiene, and life-sustaining plants. Even bringing water to the International ...
Space Exploration
Feb 9, 2026
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20
From a distance, Biosphere 2 emerges from the cacti and creosote of the Sonoran desert like a gleaming oasis, a colony of glass and bright white structures. Despite being just outside Tucson, Arizona, it looks almost like ...
Astrobiology
Sep 23, 2025
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39
Astronauts exploring the moon will need all the help they can get, and scientists have spent lots of time and plenty of money coming up with different systems to do so. Two of the critical needs of any long-term lunar mission ...
Astrobiology
Aug 5, 2025
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60
With the advancement of long-term missions to the moon and Mars, crews are expected to live together in isolated and confined environments for a long time. Thus, relationships and interactions among crew members can play ...
Space Exploration
Jun 25, 2025
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24
One of the cleanest places beyond Earth may be making its residents ill. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have had rashes, allergies and the odd infection, and scientists now believe the station's environment ...
Space Exploration
Apr 7, 2025
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50
Multiple plans exist to explore Mars in the coming decades using robotic and crewed missions. The ultimate goal of these missions is to determine whether human beings could live there someday. This requires access to building ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 4, 2025
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