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A drawing of molecules from meteors entering the Earth. On the Earth, the molecules combine into more complex organic molecules.

Astrobiology Learning Progressions

A resource to help scientists and educators conduct learning experiences and communicate about astrobiology.

Contents

About

The purpose of the Astrobiology Learning Progressions is to provide cognitive, instructional, and communication support for formal and informal educators, scientists, outreach specialists, and product developers who create and conduct learning experiences and otherwise communicate about astrobiology. The content of the Astrobiology Learning Progressions aligns closely with the topics covered in the Astrobiology Primer v2.0 and the NASA Astrobiology Strategy.

Astrobiology’s investigations and core concepts are inherently interdisciplinary, and are underpinned by fundamental science concepts in many different scientific disciplines. The Astrobiology Learning Progressions provide direct connections between discipline-based, fundamental concepts in science and the interdisciplinary core concepts of astrobiology.

State standards guide K-12 educators to teach those fundamental concepts, yet even the newest standards, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), are just beginning to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of many fields of science. The Astrobiology Learning Progressions support teachers to use the interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology to teach those fundamental concepts required by the standards.

And for scientists, as they prepare to make classroom visits, give public talks, or otherwise communicate about astrobiology, the Astrobiology Learning Progressions help them to link their own work in astrobiology with the formal learning their audiences have likely have had in Earth, life, and physical sciences.

How to Use

How to use this resource to best communicate astrobiology concepts

There are 6 major parts of the Astrobiology Learning Progressions that help frame and guide education, outreach, communication, and public engagement efforts in astrobiology. Select the tabs below to learn more about these components.

Core Learning Questions and their Sub-Questions

The Astrobiology Learning Progressions are broken down into 7 main questions, each of which represents a major interdisciplinary concept in astrobiology. Each Core Learning Question has several sub-questions, each of which has a web page that is further divided into grade bands.

Many students sitting at desks in a library. One student raises their hand.
Students in a library classroom
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

Core Learning Questions

How did matter come together to make planets and life in the first place?

  1. Are we really made of star stuff?
  2. How did our Solar System form?
Drawing of planets at different distances from their star. The closest planet is burning hot, the furthest planet is ice cold, and the middle planet is temperate.
The Goldilocks Zone (also known as the habitable zone) is the range of distances from a star where conditions are just right — not too hot, not too cold — for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface, making it potentially suitable for life as we know it.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

How did Earth become a planet on which life could develop?

  1. What was the Earth like right after it formed?
  2. How was the Sun different when it formed compared to now?
  3. Where could life have gotten started on Earth?
Meteors entering a planet's atmosphere, leaving a trail and ripples in the atmosphere.
This illustration, from Issue #2 of NASA's Astrobiology Graphic History series, depicts impacts and interactions with the atmosphere of Mars.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

What is life?

  1. What are the characteristics of life?
  2. What does life need for survival?
  3. What determines if a planet can have life?
  4. Why is water so important for life as we know it?
  5. How can we tell if something is alive or not?
Drawing of DNA and molecules
Artist illustration of DNA, peptides, and other biomolecules used by life.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

How did life on Earth originate?

  1. Where do life’s building blocks come from?
  2. What are the sources of life’s building blocks within the Earth?
  3. What are the sources of life’s building blocks outside the Earth?
Meteoroids in space on the left and Earth on the right. As the meteors enter Earth's atmosphere, they are depicted as molecules. Closer to the Earth's surface are complex organic macromolecules, like DNA.
Molecules from meteors entering Earth and combining into more complex organic compounds.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

How have life and Earth co-evolved?

  1. How did life first emerge on Earth?
  2. How did the first cells arise?
  3. How did life become something that competes for resources and evolves?
This comic book panel shows the Alvin submersible robot with arms underwater near hydrothermal vents.
This illustration from Issue #4 of the NASA Astrobiology Graphic History series shows the submersible Alvin as it identified hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the sea for the first time in 1977. The finding showed us that deep ocean environments could be habitats for life on worlds far from the energy of the Sun.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

How has life evolved to survive in diverse environments on Earth?

  1. How did life on Earth come to occupy so many different environments?
  2. What types of conditions can life survive in?
  3. Are there environments beyond Earth that could be habitable?
This artwork depicts a pyramid-like pile of balls representing different planets of various sizes and colors. Some are gaseous, others are rocky. Some have oceans, others glow with hot magma. The drawing is done in comic book style.
A vast number of exoplanets with a wide range of properties have now been discovered around distant stars. This image comes from Issue #6 of NASA's Astrobiology Graphic History series.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal

How do we explore beyond Earth for signs of life?

  1. What is a biosignature?
  2. How do we explore within our own Solar System for signs of life?
  3. How do we discover worlds around other stars?
  4. How can we identify worlds around other stars that could have life?
A comic book image in three panels showing how the CheMin instrument handles samples. The first panel shows Mars samples being delivered into a circular chamber. The second shows a small laser of light being shot through the sample, refracting into multiple beams as it passes through. The third panel is a close up of molecules and fragments of dust with beams of light bouncing between them.
CheMin studies how water may have affected the formation, deposition, or alteration of the minerals. This series of panels is from Issue #2 of NASA's Astrobiology Graphic History series.
NASA/Aaron Gronstal