Is Anyone Out There?
Students learn what life needs by studying extremophiles on Earth, then weigh the evidence for possible life on Mars, Europa, Enceladus, Titan and three exoplanets.
Grades 5-8About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops7 stops
The full guide, with the 40-minute plan, discussion key points, exit ticket, activities, transcript and PDF, comes with a teacher license. Already licensed? Use Open the full guide.
What students will see and do
Students fly from Earth to Mars, past Jupiter and Saturn, and out to the TRAPPIST-1 system, Proxima b and Kepler-452b while Aetherion explains how scientists search for life. The lesson pauses for discussion at Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Proxima b.
Learning objectives
- List the three basic requirements for life as we know it: liquid water, an energy source and key chemical elements.
- Describe at least two extremophiles and explain how they widen the range of places life might exist.
- Compare Mars, Europa, Enceladus and Titan as places to search for life, citing evidence for each.
- Explain how a biosignature such as oxygen plus methane could be detected in an exoplanet atmosphere, and why it would still need checking.
NGSS connections
| MS-LS1-1 | Students consider cells as the basic unit of life and why the search beyond Earth focuses on single-celled microbes. |
|---|---|
| MS-ESS1-3 | Students compare properties of solar system bodies (Mars, Europa, Enceladus, Titan) that affect whether life could exist there. |
| MS-ESS1-2 | Students see how gravity, through tidal flexing from Jupiter and Saturn, heats moon interiors and keeps oceans liquid. |
Stops on this journey
- What Life Needs (discussion stop)
- Mars, the Dried Up World (discussion stop)
- The Ocean Inside Europa (discussion stop)
- Enceladus and Titan
- Seven Worlds of TRAPPIST
- Proxima b, the Closest Chance (discussion stop)
- Kepler 452b and the Signs of Life
Vocabulary
- extremophile
- habitable zone
- biosignature
- organic molecule
- hydrothermal vent
- tidal heating
- exoplanet
- tidally locked