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• Article: A Group of Tardigrades Crashed Into the Moon in April. The Indestructable Critters Could Still Be Alive
  "A horde of microscopic critters called tardigrades were passengers aboard the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet, which crashed into the lunar surface nearly four months ago. But because tardigrates can survive in extreme environments, it's likely these tiny astronauts are still alive. The microscopic organisms can go without water and oxygen for long periods of time in a state of suspended animation called cryptobiosis, in which their bodies dry up and their metabolisms shut down."
• Article: Could Future Homes on the Moon and Mars Be Made of Fungi?
  "Science fiction often imagines our future on Mars and other planets as run by machines, with metallic cities and flying cars rising above dunes of red sand. But the reality may be even stranger – and "greener." Instead of habitats made of metal and glass, NASA is exploring technologies that could grow structures out of fungi to become our future homes in the stars, and perhaps lead to more sustainable ways of living on Earth as well."
• Article: Is Mars' Soil Too Dry to Sustain Life?
  "Life as we know it needs water to thrive. Even so, we see life persist in the driest environments on Earth. But how dry is too dry? At what point is an environment too extreme for even microorganisms, the smallest and often most resilient of lifeforms, to survive? These questions are important to scientists searching for life beyond Earth, including on the planet Mars. To help answer this question, a research team from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley traveled to the driest place on Earth: the Atacama Desert in Chile, a 1000 kilometer strip of land on South America’s west coast."
• Article: NASA Fosters Innovative Ways to Understand Biodiversity
  "To study and monitor changes in Earth’s biodiversity, or the immense volume of organisms in the world, scientists and citizen scientists record their sightings in the field. At the same time, sensors on the ground and on board satellites and aircraft monitor flora and fauna on a regional to global scale. NASA has funded four projects to create new, virtual portals that bring into focus this wealth of biodiversity information to help inform scientists, land managers and decision makers around the world regarding the status and health of terrestrial ecosystems. Each of these projects highlights a different aspect of biodiversity and lets users create easy-to-use maps and other information products to track healthy and vulnerable species as they compete for resources, migrate to safer habitats and adapt to climate change."
• Article: Top 5 Messages to Alien Civilizations
  "Ever since we've had the capability, humanity has been desperately trying to make contact with other life in the universe. While we've been beaming out information passively through our television and radio broadcasts, we've also sent more intentional messages. Looking at these messages tells us how humanity wants to think of itself and what kind of relationship we hope to have with alien life."
• Citizen Science: GLOBE Observer- Clouds
  "GLOBE Observer: Clouds is an app-based tool that will help you document what you see in the sky. Once you have downloaded the app and created an account, the Clouds tool (including the Clouds Wizard if you wish to use it) will guide you through the observation process. Required data includes providing your location, reporting on overall cloud cover and surface conditions that can impact satellite observations. Optional (but very useful) data include cloud types, cloud opacity, sky conditions and visibility, then taking photos of what you see in the sky. Even a basic observation without optional elements is valuable!"
• Gravity Waves Ripple over Marine Stratocumulus Clouds
  "In this natural-color image from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), a fingerprint-like gravity wave feature occurs over a deck of marine stratocumulus clouds. Similar to the ripples that occur when a pebble is thrown into a still pond, such "gravity waves" sometimes appear when the relatively stable and stratified air masses associated with stratocumulus cloud layers are disturbed by a vertical trigger from the underlying terrain, or by a thunderstorm updraft or some other vertical wind shear. The"
• Resource: DNA Building Blocks Can Be Made In Space
  "NASA-funded researchers have evidence that some building blocks of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life, found in meteorites were likely created in space. The research gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorite and comet impacts assisted the origin of life."
• Video: Astrobiology-Life in the Universe
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• Video: Dakota Star Knowledge-"We Come From the Stars"
  "An animation I created for We Are Water MN. It is narrated by Jim Rock, UMD Alworth Planetarium Program Director and Dakota Astronomer as he shares his traditional knowledge of the connections with sky and earth. He also speaks of the burial mounds and sacred Wakan Tipi cave in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which speak to our celestial origins."- Marlena Myles
• Video: Icarus Initiative: Wildlife Observation from Space
  
• Video: Meet the Tarigrade The Toughest Animal on Earth
  "Without water, a human can only survive for about 100 hours. But there’s a creature so resilient that it can go without it for decades. This 1-millimeter animal can survive both the hottest and coldest environments on earth, and can even withstand high levels of radiation. Thomas Boothby introduces us to the tardigrade, one of the toughest creatures on Earth."- TED-Ed
• Video: Navajo Story of Stars
  Navajo leaders and NASA scientists share perspectives on the stars.
• Video: Tardigrades Are the Toughest Animal on Earth That Can Survive Space and Volcanos
  "Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are the toughest and probably the weirdest animal species on Earth. Tardigrades are eight-legged micro-animals that can withstand just about anything, from mass extinctions to the vacuum of outer space, to the pressure of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth, and radiation 1,000 times stronger than humans can handle"
• Video: We're Made of Stardust. Here's How.
  "13.8 billion years ago, the universe began with a big bang and the atoms it created would find their way into everything: from celestial stars to the human body. From the Show: Finding Life in Outer Space"
• Video: What Does Your Sky Look Like? Globe Observer- Clouds
  Clouds are a major component of the Earth's system that reflect, absorb, and scatter sunlight and infrared emissions from Earth. This affects how energy passes through the atmosphere. Different types of clouds have different effects, and the amount of cloud cover is also important. Clouds can change rapidly, so frequent observations are useful to track these changes. Such observations are able to see change over time and help with interpretation of satellite cloud data. The cloud observation tool in the GLOBE Observer app allows you to photograph clouds and record sky observations and compare them with NASA satellite images. Our goal is to provide a step-by-step process that helps you learn about clouds and their classification through simple observations and photography. You are an important part of the puzzle, providing a new perspective of the clouds that our NASA satellites do not have, looking up. We are excited for you to start collecting data through this updated cloud protocol featuring NASA satellite comparison! Learn the basics of how to observe clouds with the GLOBE Observer App. Observations can be made anywhere and anytime. Open the app, select Clouds and follow the directions! Help scientists as a citizen scientist with your observations.
• White Paper: Ethical Exploration and the Role of Planetary Protection in Disrupting Colonial Practices