2 Biosphere Veterans Are Arrested After Project Sabotaged

Two people who lived inside Biosphere 2 for two years were arrested Wednesday for allegedly breaking into the sealed environmental experiment and leaving the doors open so outside air could get in.

Abigail Alling, who has been taking responsibility for Monday’s intrusion in calls to reporters across the country, was arrested at a Tucson motel with fellow crew member Mark Van Thillo. They each face felony charges of burglary and criminal property damage.

Alling and Van Thillo, among eight people who lived in the sealed dome for two years ending Sept. 26, are employees of the project’s operator, Space Biospheres Ventures.

Both were suspended from their jobs with the project last week by a court-appointed receiver representing the controversial project’s financial backer, Texas billionaire Edward P. Bass.