# Nasa ecosphere?



## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

i saw these in a shop the other day and i was intrigued. its meant to be an enclosed marine enviroment, where nothing but light and heat can get in or out. bacteria, microorganisims and marine shrimp (tiny) live in there and they lead a natural lifecycle which can go on for 4 years! 
im still indecisive about wether or not its cruel or natural (well as natural as putting some animals in a glass ball and letting them live) is.
what is everyones view?
here is a link to nasa website with the information :
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/earth/wordfind/

edit: another link with even more information :
http://www.ecospheresuk.com/howitworks/index.htm


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

I honestly don't see how its any more cruel than stuffing the same animals in a glass box. So long as it works as advertised and the shrimp are getting enough oxygen and food to sustain them I'd say its fine. It's a small enclosure but they're also tiny shrimp.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

yea i didnt mean to say it was cruel, just wanted to say that even though it says its natural, some members might argue that they are out of their natural habitat so its far from natural. i dont know if i want one or not, it is intresting its a natural ecosystem that is functions its self, i love that idea


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

I've heard mixed reports on the ecosphere, but generally I think it's cruel. The shrimp in there is Halocaridina rubra, a brackish shrimp which can tolerate a ridiculous amount of temperature variation AND both freshwater and fully marine water. They basically survive off their exoskeletons as their only food, and whatever algae the can scrounge up. Most people notice their shrimp shrinking instead of growing, a sure sign of lack of food. These shrimp are known to live for 20+ years given proper care, so the average of 2 years they live in an Ecosphere is pretty pitiful.

The EcoSphere certainly has a slower degradation time to your average aquarium, but in the end, you're not properly caring for the life inside.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

yea, that is a problem, it makes me want to buy one and put them into my 8 gallon haha. yea i just want people opinion so that i can make up my mind and see if i really want to buy one or not.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

I would rather see my shrimp flitting around a nice big tank and generally being cute than stuck into some stupid little glass sphere with virtually no interaction. Personally I think it's just kind of a dumb waste of money meant for the dumb rich girls who don't know any better.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

yea, i am really starting to dislike them lol, i also dont like the idea that i cant acess the inside of the tank, and all of us now that after keeping tanks it helps to get inside the tank and clean off all unwanted algae etc.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

There's a lot of hate in this thread! I see where people are coming from from the fishkeeper's perspective, but I actually think these things are really cool. They were designed to see if a self-contained ecosystem is possible and I think the ecospheres are a step in the right direction. Someday we might rely on technology like this if we are ever to colonize other planets. Sure, the environments might not yet be ideal for the organisms inside them, but it's important to find out if such systems are even possible in order to know if we ourselves can survive in a similar artificial environment on, say, Mars.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

thats a good point  now im really one the fence lol .


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Except there's one big difference between this product and colonizing another world: We would be capable of receiving food shipments and extra people would hopefully be able to come in and give us the extra help we need if we need it (unless of course we're forced to evacuate completely and have to land somewhere completely obscure).


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

I fully respect developing and experimenting with the concept of a self-contained environment. However, a company has taken this imperfect system and now sells it for a profit- there is a HUGE difference there. The people who buy this don't use it for further gaining knowledge, they use it as a decoration, which they don't realize is cruel. The company lies to its customers and claims that this is a fully self sustaining environment in which the shrimp are properly cared for.

If you want to keep these shrimp (which are brackish for the long term btw), you can easily purchase them as feeders from stores that sell seahorse food. Despite the desire to "save" these shrimp from the ecosphere, you only serve to give this company profit and prompt them to produce more.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

^those are both good points.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree with you that the company currently selling the eco-spheres is in it purely for the money and there is no scientific benefit coming from private citizens owning these things. I also agree that the environments housing the creatures are sub-optimal. However, the technology *was* developed by NASA, who no doubt made some money by selling the technology to this private company. Sure there are gray moral areas here, but in the end the fact that the technology was something that could be turned into profit was something that likely provided NASA with more funding for other research. I'm not taking a stand on the issue one way or another because I fancy myself a bit of a moral utilitarian and I'm not even going to attempt to break out a moral calculator to figure out the cost-benefit ratio in this case. I just wanted both sides of the argument to be fairly represented.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

yea i think both sides of the arguement are being fairly represented, its nice to hear everyones side of the story.


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