Free Teacher Workshop on NASA’s Search for Life Program

Submitted by Kasey Gillam
Phone: (907) 474-7581
02/12/03

The Space Grant program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in a partnership with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is sponsoring a free workshop on Origins: NASA’s Search for Life, for teachers, UAF students wanting to become teachers and UAF faculty with hands-on materials from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the library in West Valley High School.

Title: Origins: NASA’s Search for Life
Workshop length: 3.5 hours
Presented by: Debby Salter; high school teacher from Lynwood, Washington, trained by NASA’s Solar System Educator Program

Target audience: Middle School to High School teachers but can be adapted down to intermediate elementary level

Overview:

*Explanation of NASA’s 3 Quests that serve as the governing force for all exploration: origin of the solar system and the Earth, the origin of life on this planet and possibilities for it elsewhere, the future habitability of this planet, including mass extinction events like cometary impacts

*Overview of current missions and how they relate to the 3 Quests: Mars Global Surveyor, Galileo, Cassini, Stardust, Deep Impact, Mars Odyssey

*Activities to introduce each of the 3 Quests: kinesthetic model of solar nebular theory, definition of life activities, impactors

*Focus on origin of life: early Earth environment, requirements for life, other candidates that may support prebiotic conditions, (Io, Europa, Mars, Titan)

*Activities relating to defining life and recognition of it (Is it Alive activity, electron photomicrographs, ALH84001, Yellowstone thermal pool mosaic, Aerocibo message)

*Survey of extremophiles: hyperthermophiles, psychrophiles, "stone eaters" and their usefulness as analogues for possible extra terrestrial life

*Resource packet and Web links

Debby Salter recently wrote, "I have expanded the content of the workshop to include both mission updates with a focus on Mars in addition to the central theme of the search for life; I have also included current info and teacher activities for Human Adaptation to Spaceflight."

Contact: Darlette Powell (907) 474-6833 or at fndap@aurora.alaska.edu