Astrobiology
View Teach.Genetics for Classroom Materials
interactive explore
Life in Extreme Environments
Earth has some pretty extreme environments, yet organisms have found a way to fill every niche. This finding has renewed our hope that life exists elsewhere in the universe.
explore
Conditions That Support Life
Just 3 basic ingredients make Earth a habitable planet: liquid, atoms, and energy. Looking for them elsewhere may help us find life on other planets and moons.
Are we alone in the universe? What can Earth's living creatures teach us about the possibility of extraterrestrial life? What do living things need to survive? How did life begin? Scientists called Astrobiologists look for answers.
Photo from base of Mount Sharp, Mars. Taken by NASA's Curiosity rover. Photo courtesy of NASA.