BSP Screen
NG_GG
USMOs:
6967: Describe features of the layers, or spheres, that make up the earth's system (atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and magnetosphere)
Image
Image of the Earth from space
Is There Life Out There?
The spheres of the Earth from the magnetosphere to the biosphere work together to shield the Earth from harmful radiation and provide air, water, and places for life to live.
Could there be life on other planets? Let’s take a tour of our solar system to see where it might exist and what it would be like.
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Stops
Text
As we look for signs of life on other planets, we can also learn a lot about the Earth itself. Let’s go see what is out there!
Image Description
Image of the solar system
Start Habitable Planets
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
Can we use this model from NASA?
Intro Text
The moon is our closest neighbor. It probably broke off from the Earth as the planet was forming. So why didn’t life evolve on the moon as well? Explore the moon to find out.
Hotspots
1 - The moon is basically a giant rock in space. It doesn’t have a magnetosphere or an atmosphere. This means it has no protection from the radiation from the sun.
2 - Even though there are some ice crystals on the surface, there isn’t enough to form a hydrosphere.
3 - Temperatures during the day can get to around 250°F (121°C) and then drop to -208°F (-133°C) at night.
4 - Even though it doesn’t have life, we can learn a lot from the moon. Comparing craters on the Earth and the moon can teach us about the geology of our own planet and how it has changed over time.
5 - These dark areas are mare (pronounced MAR-ray). These were formed by lava flowing to the surface and cooling billions of years ago.
Stop - Moon
Far side of the moon
4
1
3
2
5
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
Can we use this model from NASA?
Into Text
Mercury is a little bigger than the moon and they are both very similar. Any life here?
Hotspots
1 - Mercury’s surface is heavily cratered like the moon
2 - Being the closest planet to the sun, it has no atmosphere or magnetosphere.
3 - Sunlight is 11x stronger on the surface! Not even the strongest sunglasses could you from those rays. We’ll have to look for life elsewhere.
Image Description
Stop - Mercury
1
2
3
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
Intro Text
Venus has been called Earth’s twin because it is a similar size. It also has a magnetosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. Could it have life?
1 - Venus is nothing like the Earth. Its thick atmosphere is made up of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. These trap all the heat from the sun like a giant greenhouse making Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.
2 - Venus is probably like the Earth was right after it formed - extremely hot, toxic, and rocky. Probes sent to the surface have barely lasted an hour as they get eaten away by the acidic air, fried in temperatures hot enough to melt lead, or crushed by the extreme atmospheric pressure.
3 - By studying Venus, we might be able to find out why life didn’t form there and be able to learn more about why life did form here on Earth.
Stop - Venus
1
2
3
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
Model from NASA
https://g.co/kgs/8NTL1XM
Intro Text
Mars is the only planet we know of that is entirely inhabited by robots. Of course, those robots came from Earth.
1 - Like the Earth, Mars has a magnetosphere, an atmosphere made up of mainly carbon dioxide, a lithosphere that contains a lot of iron rock. The iron is what gives Mars its red color.
2 - Mars doesn’t have enough water to have a hydrosphere.
3 - The polar ice caps are made of frozen CO2 instead of water.
4 - Mars’ atmosphere is too thin for liquid water on the surface but there are pockets of water ice just below the surface. There is also evidence of ancient river beds and lake beds where water could have flowed billions of years ago.
5 - One of the missions of the Mars rovers is to look for signs of ancient life that could have formed when Mars was much warmer and wetter than it is today.
Stop - Mars
1
3
4
2
5
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
Can we use this model from NASA?
Text
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It is called the “gas planet” because it is mainly made up of layers of gas and ammonia water clouds.
Image Description
Stop - Jupiter
1
2
3
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
https://g.co/kgs/Th7mXDG
Intro Text
Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus are also gas planets like Jupiter so we won’t find any life there. Maybe there is life on one of the many moons in the solar system. One of the most likely places that there might be life is Enceladus, the icy moon of Saturn.
Stops
Stop - Enceladus
1
2
3
4
Search for Habitable Planets XR
Interactions
Text
Well it looks like Earth is the only place where there is life on in solar system. The spheres of the Earth provide the right combination of air, water, living spaces, and protection to allow life to evolve and flourish. Maybe someday we’ll have space colonies on the moon or Mars or elsewhere in the solar system. If so, we’ll need to design habitats and space suits that give us the same elements for life as the spheres of the Earth.
Image Description
Original image of the Earth or images of different life on Earth.
Stop - End
OLD
Spheres of the Earth XR Overview
Start in space at the edge of the magnetosphere. Have stops for:
Interactions
Fly through an aurora
Text
We’re starting at the edge of space in the Earth’s magnetosphere. It protects us from harmful radiation and keeps the atmosphere from floating off into space. The Earth’s core contains a lot of metals. As the Earth rotates, it generates the magnetosphere like a giant electromagnet.
Aurora
Particles from the sun fly through space as the solar wind. When they reach the Earth’s magnetosphere, that produces auroras.
Image Description
The magnetosphere is invisible but is often depicted like this image.
https://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/focus-areas/magnetosphere-ionosphere/
Stop - Magnetosphere
XR Interactions
Fly through:
Air gets thicker as you get closer to the ground.
Text
The end of the atmosphere it is the beginning of space. Up here, the air is too thin to breathe and it’s too cold for us to survive. The atmosphere will get thicker as we get closer to the Earth’s surface but it will still be a while before there is enough air for us to breathe.
Image Description
Like this interaction but in reverse. - https://neal.fun/space-elevator/
Stop - Atmosphere
XR Interactions
Fly around
Text
The end of the atmosphere it is the beginning of space. Up here, the air is too thin to breathe and it’s too cold for us to survive. The atmosphere will get thicker as we get closer to the Earth’s surface but it will still be a while before there is enough air for us to breathe.
Image Description
Strider could follow the water cycle and we could possibly reuse some of those images in this interaction.
Stop - Hydrosphere
XR Interactions
Fly around
Text
The lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth’s crust. It contain all the solid rocks on the Earth’s surface. It is also where all the plants and animals live on land. The ocean also contains mountains, volcanoes, and other rocky features that you find on land.
Image Description
Fly around images of the places mentioned above.
Stop - Lithosphere
XR Interactions
Fly around
Text
The biosphere includes all the areas on the Earth that have life in the combined hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere. Scientists have found life on the tops of the highest mountains to the bottom of the ocean and everywhere in between.
Image Description
Maybe start at the highest points where life is found and then descend to the lowest depths of the ocean.
https://blog.nature.org/2020/07/27/mammal-living-at-highest-altitude/
https://mappingthedeep-story.hub.arcgis.com/pages/explore-challenger-deep
End of Spheres of the Earth part of the XR
Stop - Biosphere