This Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) activity explores the controversy over whether or not there is life on Mars. Part of the Mysteries of Deep Space Program that originally aired in April 1997, the activity includes instructional objectives, background information, and discussion/essay questions related to life on Mars. It also features an activity where students can grow microorganisms, examine them under a microscope, and analyze their observations with the aid of follow-up questions.

Astro-Venture is an educational, interactive, multimedia Web environment highlighting NASA careers and astrobiology research in the areas of Astronomy, Geology, Biology and Atmospheric Sciences. Students in grades 5-8 role play NASA occupations and use scientific inquiry, as they search for and design a planet with the necessary characteristics for human habitation.

This is the second of four curriculum guides focusing on astrobiology and careers for grades 5-8. Students are confronted with the challenge of searching for and designing a planet that would be habitable to humans. Using an online, multimedia module, students change the amounts of gases in our atmosphere and draw conclusions about which factors are necessary for human survival. Students then engage in classroom activities that help them to form an understanding of atoms, elements, and molecules as the components of gases that have unique properties that makes each gas important to human survival. They further explore the process of chemical change, with a focus on some of the chemical reactions most important to human survival. In contrast, they learn how the inert gas, nitrogen, is important to human life by contributing to our surface pressure. Finally, they connect their learning to the systems they explored in Astronomy.

Astro-Venture is an educational, interactive, multimedia Web environment highlighting NASA careers and astrobiology research in the areas of Astronomy, Geology, Biology and Atmospheric Sciences. Students in grades 5-8 role play NASA occupations and use scientific inquiry, as they search for and design a planet with the necessary characteristics for human habitation.

This is the third of four curriculum guides focusing on astrobiology and careers. Students are confronted with the challenge of searching for and designing a planet that would be habitable to humans. Using an online, multimedia module, students make changes to the Earth-s interior and draw conclusions about which factors are necessary for human survival. Students then engage in classroom activities that explore the effects of heat and pressure on states of matter, density and movement through convection. They further explore the resulting process of plate tectonics and volcanoes and the role these play in the carbon cycle. Finally, students investigate the Earth-s magnetic field and connect their learning to the systems they explored in Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences.

The science of astrobiology is concerned with the question of whether or not life exists on other planets. These activities were adapted for use in afterschool programs with ages 5-12. Astrobiology consists of eight activities, each of which may be completed in about one hour. Astrobiology: Science Learning Activities for Afterschool was produced by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) as a part of a 18 month study and demonstration project funded by NASA.

" This course is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current research around sulfur biogeochemistry and astrobiology."

This 27-page educator guide is a NASA Quest resource about Microbial Ecology and related Astrobiology activities. Students will construct a Winogradsky Column to observe the growth of microbes in a column of mud. During this investigation students will develop a hypothesis, record their observations and results, and form conclusions. They will compare and contrast their methods during the investigation with those of the astrobiologists performing research in the field and the laboratory. It includes student handouts and assessment rubrics that may be duplicated without copyright restrictions.

This NASA website provides a summary of a study led by NASA's David McKay that may provide evidence for past life on Mars. McKay and his team found carbonate globule features on the ALH84001 meteorite that appear to be nanofossils. In addition, secondary mineral phases and hydrocarbons provide further evidence for past life. The website features color photographs as well as links to related web pages.

You have been selected as a member of a group to interest fourth and fifth grade students in current science issues. As you searched for science topics to capture their attention, you came across this headline: Microbes Create Earth's Atmosphere. Although this seems like a tabloid heading, it is not. NASA researchers are studying bacteria, other microbes, and the gases they produce in microbial mat ecosystems to see how life formed on Earth. Early microbial ecosystems are also studied to help scientists discover life on other planets. This research is even being used in the quest for life on Mars. You wonder, how do you use earth's microbial ecosystems to look for life on other planets?

This is the expedition page of the 2002 Mission to the Abyss. Developed by the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies, the site highlights the mission and crew, seafloor geology, creature features, and high-tech tools used in the study. This interactive website allows students to explore the submersible Alvin, find out how hydrothermal vents form, define the deep ocean, study plate tectonics, and meet hydrothermal vent organisms. The site includes extreme experiments, including: compression of a fluid vs. a gas, rising under pressure, my cup shrinks, soda squeeze, and plant pressure.

This is an article from "Teachable Moments in the News," a newsletter that takes recent Earth and space science related news stories and places them in a context relevant to the science curriculum. This particular edition describes the Goldilocks Zone, a range of environmental conditions that can support life. Teachers are provided a brief introduction, relevant news links, and developed lesson plans. Some lessons are in PDF format. Activity themes include: exploration of environmental conditions necessary to sustain life, physical and behavioral adaptations of organisms, and identification of resources on Earth that are essential for life to thrive.

This PBS documentary provides an overview of the microbial world and offers an exciting glimpse into the field of microbiology. Meet scientists from around the world investigating the microbial world in diverse locations, from a termite's stomach to a hospital operating room to an African village, and even outer space. These programs - including The Tree of Life, Keepers of the Biosphere, Dangerous Friends and Friendly Enemies, and Creators of the Future - increase the microbial literacy of students, the general public, and biotechnology workers. The site also contains an interactive Game of Life, classroom resources for grades K-12, and information about the companion book published by ASM Press.

This downloadable booklet contains five inquiry- and standards-based classroom activities for grades 5-8 and three math extensions spanning topics from Defining Life, to Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life.

Lets us look over the shoulders of scientists and glimpse the often-unseen moments of investigation. Take virtual field trips to eight observatories -- Arecibo, where astrobiologists search for signs of life beyond the solar system; Las Cuevas, a research station in Central America's largest remaining rainforest; and others. See interviews, photos, and broadcasts that explore the origins of matter, the universe, and life itself.

This collection of images highlights the Rio Tinto area of Spain, specifically where the NASA Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) took place. The site includes links to related news releases.

In this course, we will discuss the microbial physiology and genetics of stress responses in aquatic ecosystems, astrobiology, bacterial pathogenesis and other environments. We will learn about classical and novel methods utilized by researchers to uncover bacterial mechanisms induced under both general and environment-specific stresses. Finally, we will compare and contrast models for bacterial stress responses to gain an understanding of distinct mechanisms of survival and of why there are differences among bacterial genera.