h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For that matter, why not just build a prototype underwater? When you're underwater, you need basically the same things you would need in space. (e.g. air, food, cable, etc.) We already have the transportation to and from down to a science, all that really is unkown is how you would go about living there. Being actually on Earth would also make it easier to rescue the test subjects if anything went wrong.

Tell that to the guys on the Kursk * oh, wait, they didn't make it. Anyway, the prototype was origionally Biosphere 2. Out in the American Southwest, built a self-sustaining ecosystem. But then they made a movie about it (Biodome) starring Pauly Shore and NASA scrapped all involvement in shame.


"Go to red alert!"
"Are you sure, sir? It will mean changing the lightbulb..."
(Random quote guild)

why build the prototypes under water when that causes considerable extra problems and there are quite a few near-martian habitats available on earth.

there are already test habitation modules deployed and manned in a few different locations, and usefull things are being learned from them.