In 2024, as a Graduate Fellow Mentor with the Joint Science Education Project (JSEP), I developed an inquiry-driven, student-centered astrobiology module for undergraduate students, which I taught to students Greenland, Denmark, and the United States, on-site in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. My module links fundamental questions about life in the universe to the local polar ecosystems in Greenland. I focus on extremophilic (and charismatic) microanimals that are relatively simple to collect from moss and tundra samples in polar regions.

By framing polar regions as analogs for other planetary environments, I hope to inspire students to see these landscapes not as remote and inhospitable but as thriving ecosystems worth protecting. People will conserve what they love, and fostering a sense of wonder polar environments may ultimately lead to stronger conservation efforts.

Curriculum Components — download and use in your classroom!

Curriculum motivation & impact

I initially developed this curriculum to be taught on-site in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland and have since updated aspects to be taught over zoom for a first-year undergraduate audience (see button links below). The module is composed of three main components: (1) an introductory lecture, which provides an overview of astrobiology and tardigrades as model extremophiles. It also introduces the students to a case study, thinking about a prove that crash-landed on the moon carrying live tardigrades in 2019. It is designed to encourage student engagement (in person or over zoom). (2) experimental data analysis exercise, where students examine real data from published experiments that measure the survival of tardigrades in conditions relevant to lunar exploration. (3) guide for tardigrade and micro-eukaryote field collections, which provides instructions and a low-cost supply list for extracting micro-eukaryotes (100 um to 2 mm) from tundra moss (though this method is appropriate for other substrates as well, including sediments, leaf litter, etc.).

I would love to share my curriculum with the wider astrobiology and polar science communities! Use the link buttons above to download the module components.

Poster presentation from Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2025)