Exploratour: NASA's Exploration for Life

Polar Bear
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Image courtesy of Corel Photography

To read more about it, try the Life on Earth Exploratour

Or link to our section on life where you can read about Animalia, Fungi, Monera, Protista, and Plantae.

The Animal Kingdom

Our view of "Life", that is life as we know it on Earth, may bias our view of where life ought to be found elsewhere in the solar system. When you think of "life", what image comes to mind? A careful look at *all* the varieties of life on Earth may help us understand more about life's potential to survive in environments which are very different from that of the Earth.

First, life may be "multicellular". This means they are made of many cells, like a dog or cat. Or they may be made of only one cell, like bacteria. Second, most forms of life get their food by eating other organisms. Other life forms don't have to eat because they can use the Sun's energy to make their own food. All life forms seem to need oxygen to survive, but that is not always the case.

Here's a brief summary of life on Earth.

The Animal Kingdom

  • mammals
    • elephants, rodents, etc
  • arthropods
    • insects, crabs
  • reptiles
is multi-cellular and complex

The Monera Kingdom

  • bacteria
  • archaea
is procaryotic; unicellular, no membrane-bound organelle nor nuclei.

The Plant Kingdom

  • trees, flowers, etc
varies from multi-cellular to eucaryotic; unicellular, with membrane-bound organelle and nuclei

The Protista Kingdom

  • Amoeba, etc.
Protists can be unicellular, multicellular or colonial. Some move around and act like animals, others perform photosynthesis like plants

The Fungi Kingdom

  • athletes foot, etc
resembles animals; cannot make its own food through photosynthesis; consumes organic matter.



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