Notice: This is an archived and unmaintained page. For current information, please browse astrobiology.nasa.gov.

2011 Annual Science Report

Montana State University Reporting  |  SEP 2010 – AUG 2011

EPO Activity: Online Short Course for Elementary Teachers

Project Progress

The Astrobiology team at Montana State University, in conjunction with NTEN at MSU, has developed “Introduction to Elementary Astrobiology,” an online short course with modules addressing astrobiology subject material. The course outline includes the challenges of defining life, sorting life, and discovering life. It also examines extreme environments and chemical resources available to living organisms on earth, which then compares these earthly extreme environments to the chemical signatures of extraterrestrial environments. The course modules provide building blocks to allow participants to contemplate and investigate the potential for finding life beyond Earth. The online short course is a self-paced course with interactive components as well as links to NASA resources.