WORD OF THE DAY

The ecosphere is the area on and around the earth where life exists. Organisms can only survive outside the ecosphere in an artificially protected environment, like a spaceship.

Ecosphere is another word for biosphere — the area around a planet that contains everything that's needed to sustain life. In the case of Earth, that means oxygen and the other elements required for organisms to survive. Astronomers have a somewhat different definition of ecosphere which includes areas where life might potentially exist. The word was coined in the mid-20th century, from eco-, "the environment," and sphere, "space."