Nestled in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, around 31 miles from Tucson, there exists an oasis; a collection of environments one would never anticipate to exist in the scorched Arizona desert.

Thirty years ago last month, on Sept. 26, 1993, a group of eight weary, visionary adventurers “returned” to Earth after two years of living together in a miniature version of our world — a ...