Discover the fascinating field of astrobiology; study life on earth and space exploration on this ExpertTrack led by astrobiologist Dr Louisa Preston.
3 hrs per week
Approx 15 weeks
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Course 1
Habitability
Learn what makes the Earth so special, and why ‘habitable’ doesn’t always mean ‘inhabited’.
1 test
3 weeks
3 hours per week
Week 1
Habitable vs Habitability
- Welcome to the course
- What do we mean by habitability?
- Galactic habitable zones
- Maintaining habitability for life
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 2
What makes Earth so special?
- Welcome to Week 2
- The greenhouse effect
- Plate tectonics
- The Moon
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 3
Alien worlds on Earth
- Welcome to Week 3
- Uninhabited habitats
- Extremophiles
- Planetary analogues
- Course wrap-up
Course 2
Earth and Life
From the beginning to where we are now, explore the formation of the Earth and the history of life on the blue planet.
1 test
3 weeks
3 hours per week
Week 1
The formation of the Earth
- Welcome to the course
- From dust to a planet
- The Late Heavy Bombardment
- The origins of life on the early Earth
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 2
How the Earth works
- Welcome to Week 2
- What is the Earth made of?
- The Earth's movements
- The geological record
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 3
The history of life
- Welcome to Week 3
- The earliest life
- Multicellular life
- Mass extinctions
- Course wrap-up
Course 3
Life on Mars
4.9 (7 reviews)Discover our neighbouring planet, Mars, and delve into the missions and mysteries surrounding life on the planet.
1 peer-graded assignment
3 weeks
3 hours per week
Week 1
Mars inside and out
- Welcome to the course
- Getting to know the Red Planet
- The geological record on Mars
- Dating Mars
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 2
Water
- Welcome to Week 2
- Water on Mars
- Missions to Mars
- Mars today
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 3
Searching for life
- Welcome to Week 3
- Mars habitability
- Hunting for life on Mars
- Follow the carbon
- Course wrap-up
Course 4
Icy Moons and Exoplanets
Explore the potential for life on icy moons, what exoplanets look like, and the role biosignatures play in the search for life.
1 test
3 weeks
3 hours per week
Week 1
Icy moons
- Welcome to the course
- Europa
- Enceladus
- Titan
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 2
Leaving the Solar System
- Welcome to Week 2
- The edges of the Solar System
- What lies beyond...
- Star light, star bright
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 3
Exoplanets
- Welcome to Week 3
- The diversity of exoplanets
- A second Earth
- Hunting for exoplanets
- Course wrap-up
Course 5
The Future of Life
Explore the threats facing human civilisation on Earth and discover the possible ways that we could colonise other planets.
1 peer-graded assignment
3 weeks
3 hours per week
Week 1
Our civilisation: Rise and threats
- Welcome to the course
- Evolution in a cosmic context
- The evolution of us
- Threats to a civilisation
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 2
Colonisation of other worlds
- Welcome to Week 2
- A multi-planet species
- Colonising the Moon
- Colonising Mars
- Weekly wrap-up
Week 3
A sustainable future
- Welcome to Week 3
- A changing climate
- Materialistic beings
- The next step
- Course wrap-up
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