This lithograph provides a full-disk view of Earth photographed by Apollo 17 astronauts, Dec. 7, 1972. The accompanying text describes the view seen in the photograph and the circumstances in which it was taken. Suggestions for activities in which the photograph can be used are also provided. Full description.

This activity introduces students to planetary research. Students learn to focus on details by studying and writing descriptions of uncaptioned images of the Solar System. They then increase their knowledge of the planets and their features by comparing their descriptions to those of real researchers. Students organize their findings to infer a key difference between inner and outer planets. Full description.

This lithograph set contains images with information about: Our Solar System, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, Asteroids, Jupiter, Moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Charon, and Comets. Full description.

This is a Flash-based interactive tool kit. It allows users to watch real-time NASA satellite images of the Sun and Earth. A thumbnail viewer lets them explore and compare solar and terrestrial data from a variety of NASA missions and ground-based observatories. In addition, the viewer contains video interviews with scientists and other experts. Computer-generated visualizations and additional NASA ... Full description.

In this unit, participants are engaged in learning content while also developing skills that are key to conducting scientific investigations. These activities were adapted for use in after school programs for children ages 5-12. It consists of nine sequential activities; most activities can be completed in about one hour. Full description.

The activities in this guide engage students in learning about the Sun and the process of scientific investigation. The eight activities were adapted for use in afterschool programs with ages 5-12; each can be completed in about one hour. Full description.

In this lesson, students focus on the tremendous public interest in the potential of extraterrestrial life. Students read and discuss an article about the search for alien life. They then divide into small groups and discuss the issues and implications of this search. Finally, they write about the complex issues involved in this search and its implications in one of several suggested genres. Full description.

The European Space Agency's Mars Express Satellite has recorded images in three different bands of the southern polar cap of Mars, which show both frozen carbon dioxide and water ice. The images are presented with a brief caption and links to other Mars Express imagery and status reports. Full description.

This article examines the evidence for recent liquid water on Mars. NASA scientists believe that piles of crater-topped debris snapped by the Mars orbiter were caused by the teakettle explosion of water through volcanic lava flows at the planet's equator and are the best evidence yet for recent liquid water at the Red Planet. Researchers believe that lava flows advanced over wet ground, causing steam ... Full description.

This article from Astrobiology Magazine reports on the discovery of water in "cold" regions of space. Using data from the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory, astronomers have determined that water is abundant in these cold, or quiescent regions of space where there are no stars, and that the majority of it occurs as ice with a small amount of water vapor. It is thought that these cold ... Full description.