We will begin by asking ourselves one of the most profound questions ever posed: Are we alone? And for us to even start to answer this, we must first discover what ‘life’ actually is.

A habitat only becomes inhabited once life moves in. Here we will look at what 'life as we know it' needs to make a home; whether that home is a single drop of water or an entire planet.

In the search for life in the cosmos, we are on a quest to find somewhere that is ‘just right’ for life. Here we will explore how it’s not just the right planet that is important, but the entire galaxy.

Once we have life, we don’t just want it to survive, but to thrive. Here we will begin to explore how the cycles of the Earth help to maintain life not just in the moment but over billions of years.

The Earth is unique (as far as we know) in being an inhabited habitable planet. Here we'll recap some key concepts and start to think about how we can apply them when assessing the habitability of other worlds in the galaxy.

This week we'll start to explore what makes the Earth so special and unique for life. We'll answer questions like “What does our planet have that others like Mars do not?”, and “Is this why we uniquely have life on our surface?"

Here we'll explore how sunlight, the air around us, and the rocks under our feet are all connected, each helping to regulate our planet’s temperature to make it habitable for life – and what can happen if this balance is lost.

The Earth’s rocky shell is constantly moving, rearranging itself and helping to cycle nutrients throughout the planet. Here we'll evaluate the importance of plate tectonics and question if there would be life on Earth without it.

Here you will learn that the Moon is more than just a staple comforting sight in the night sky. We will hear from a scientist about her fascination with the Moon and her career in space science.

This week we have learnt about the link between the air, the land and the sea. This final activity will bring everything we have explored together.

This week we will discover what kinds of life forms might be capable of surviving on Mars and other planets and what environments this life likes to inhabit. We'll also explore how habitable environments are not always inhabited.

Here we'll explore life's energy needs and name the different types of organisms on Earth. We'll also hear from an expert about the many uninhabited habitats in the Solar System and what this means for our search for alien life.

Meet the extremophiles. Life survives in a host of different environments that we as humans cannot, and it’s this life that we think could have existed on Mars. We will also meet my favourite lifeform: the water bear.

To find life on other worlds we need to know where to look. Here we will investigate Mars-like environments on the Earth and find out how the Earth is guiding us in our exploration of other planets.

This week we have covered habitats, extremophiles and planetary analogues. Now it is time to wrap-up and consolidate everything you have learnt in this course.