For several decades Man have prepared for long voyages into space. Scientists around the world have tried to copy Earth's delicate ecological balances in small, sealed cycles in order to produce sufficient and vital supplies of water, oxygen and food on a journey into space. This historical documentary takes us back to the 1960s and reveals unique footage from Russian experiments, where people were confined for one year in a sealed spaceship mock up. The documentary also reveals the extraordinary American experiment, "Biosphere 2" back in 1991, where a group eight persons were isolated for two years in a huge glass construction which contained a small scale model of planet Earth. And it covers the recent Russian/European experiment "Mars 500", where a mixed crew of six people is locked up in a metal tube to simulate a trip to Mars.