1. Bellwork 10/24 What is the purpose of the Drake Equation?
Why is it important for an astrobiologist to understand where a habitable zone is around a star?

2. Coming Up…
Today: Collect practice lab data, complete research proposal
Monday 10/30: Set up astrobiology lab, review
Wednesday 11/1: TEST (and collect data)
Friday 11/3: Finish data collection & write up

3. Astrobiology TED ed Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe.
It investigates the origin, evolution, distribution, & future of life on Earth, & the search for life beyond Earth
TED ed

4. What do organisms need to live?
Energy
Liquid Water
…at least for life as WE know it…

5. Extremophiles Organisms living in extreme habitats on Earth
Many examples of tolerance to extreme environments
temperature
pressure
salinity pH
desiccation
radiation

6. Some Categories of Organisms Adapted to Extreme Habitats
- Low pH (< 5)
- High pH (> 9)
- No O2
Within rock
High salinity
High hydrostatic pressure
Very cold temp.
Very hot temp.
Very limited H2O
Acidophiles
Alkaliphile
Anaerobe
Endolith
Halophile
Barophile
Psychrophile
Thermophile
Xerophile

7. A little bit about our test subjects… Brine Shrimp (Artemia franciscana)
Very resilient organisms
Widely used in biotoxicology tests
Live in salty waters (inland and along the coast)
Hatch time: hours
Life cycle

8. Brine Shrimp in Space! Besides being studied in labs…
Brine shrimp cysts have been aboard
Apollo 16 & 17
Several Russian space missions

9. Design your own Astrobiology Lab
These types of lab are commonly known as LD50 labs
Works best if you choose one variable but set a range of that variable
10% NaCl, 20% NaCl, 30% NaCl
This allows you to get a better picture of how well the organisms can survive in the given condition

10. Example: How does Ethanol concentration effect brine shrimp survival?
Rationale: Ethanol on Titan (moon of Saturn)
Procedure: Set up cysts in various concentrations of ethanol (mixed in with salt water).
Data Collection: Recorded shrimp hatching data after 2 days and 4 days.

11. Example: How does pH affect brine shrimp survival?
Rationale: pH of clouds on Venus
Procedure: Set up cysts in solutions with various pH (mixed in with salt water).
Data Collection: Recorded shrimp hatching data after 2 days and 4 days.

12. Some Ideas: Salinity pH Viscosity
Light (color, wavelength, time/amount)
Temperature (this can be tricky with heat…just FYI)

13. Tasks today:
Collect your practice data! This will help you design your lab efficiently.
Finish your Location Research from Friday (if not finished already). This document will help you with your rationale & conclusion questions.
Write out and submit lab proposal—make sure it is DETAILED. I need to know what to prepare over the weekend.