Science Education Standards: Earth and Space Science -- Content Standard D: Earth in the Solar System

• The Earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the Moon, the sun, seven other planets and their moons, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets. The sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system.

Short Description: Students investigate the phenomena of life through activities that introduce them to the multidisciplinary sciences of planetology and exobiology. Simulating Venusian and Martian conditions, they explore various means of detecting life in the atmosphere and soils of Earth. They use their findings to propose a spacecraft design for life detection on Venus and Mars.