Page #94February 29, 2012 Focus: Space Technology, Science Review Objective: Summarize space exploration EQ: How has space exploration impacted our lives? HW: unfinished classwork Warm Up: Answer the following 1.Explain why today is a special day. 2.How has space exploration impacted your life?

Brainstorm: How has space exploration impacted your life?

Page 96 March 2nd, 2012 Focus: Life in Outer Space Objective: Investigate whether there could be life on other planets Essential Question: Is Earth the only place that has life? HW: essay – direction sheet pg. 97 (given next class) Warm-Up: Write and Answer 1.list the things you think are essential for life to exist. 2.Define the word: life 3.Hypothesize: Is there life in outer space? Explain your thinking.

Big Questions in Science  Where did we come from?  Are we alone? Questions about origins: Other astrobiology questions: 1.How did life on Earth form? 2.Should we expect life on many other worlds? 3.Is life on other worlds like life on Earth? 4.How can we detect life elsewhere?

Lab Report: Is it alive? Purpose – Explore the properties of three mystery samples Materials – Hypothesis – (Do any of the three mystery samples contain living things?) Record observations

Life in Outer Space cont. Page 96 March 6th, 2012 HW: essay – direction sheet pg. 97 Warm-Up: A.Complete the sheet B.On the back write a summary about the lab we did last class *What did you do? What did you learn?

Why is Earth the only planet that can sustain human and animal life? Earth has: plenty of oxygen not a lot of carbon dioxide which is helped by tectonic plate movement. a thick atmosphere that protects it from poisonous gases in outer space the climate is just right a sun water on the surface

olution/detecting-life.html FLR0V4k html 3/Nasa-detect-Earths-twin-Kepler-20f-orbiting- star.html

Collecting cold-loving extremophiles by coring into the Antarctic ice sheet. Thanks to advancing technology, the past decade has seen the discovery of organisms living under conditions we consider extreme and uninhabitable. These bacteria and bacteria-like organisms are called extremophiles. They are prokaryotes, a type of very small, single- celled organism that lacks a nucleus. The fact that no one expected to find organisms living under extreme conditions underscores how much we still have to learn about life!

Collecting acid-loving extremophiles in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico.

Collecting heat-loving extremophiles from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.

Extremophiles live at the limits of what life’s chemistry is able to tolerate..

If organisms on Earth can thrive under such conditions, then one might reasonably expect that similar conditions on other worlds might support life, as well. In fact, as we explore our solar system, we find mounting evidence for extraterrestrial conditions that may support extremophiles.

The logic at work, both in the search for extraterrestrial life is that Earth’s extremophiles can serve as models for life elsewhere. It is plausible to think that we may find evidence of life in any place that mirrors Earth’s life- sustaining environments.

What does life on Mars look like? The guy on the left might be what you're picturing when you think about life on Mars, but the bacteria on the right are the more realistic possibility.

Add to the list: Gliese 581d HD 85512b