Audience
Educators
Grade Levels
Grades K-4, Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12
Subject
Engineering Design, Life Science, Space Science, Technology, Living and Working in Space, Solar System and Planets, Earth's Moon
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities
Earth is the ultimate biosphere. It holds and sustains all life known to humanity. As people look forward to traveling and living beyond Earth, conditions are seen that are too harsh to sustain life as humans know it. Conditions on the moon are not favorable for sustaining life because of the absence of water, organic topsoil and atmosphere. Artificial light must be used during the long, dark periods. This activity challenges students to create a working model of a lunar biosphere that is a balanced, self-enclosed living system able to run efficiently over a long period of time.
Lunar Biosphere Activity [146KB PDF file]
This activity is part of the Exploring the Moon Educator Guide.