OUT OF THIS WORLD INQUIRY: TEACHING PLANETARY GEOLOGIC PROCESSES USING TERRESTRIAL ANALOGS

From the Apollo missions of the 1960s to the upcoming Artemis mission (~2024), terrestrial analog sites have played a critical role in educating space scientists about planetary processes. Analog locations are often characterized by landscapes similar to a target body of interest; for example, basalt terrains of Hawaii and Iceland are used to teach about mafic volcanism (Moon, Mars, Io), while dry valleys of Antarctica record erosion and sedimentation in cold, icy climates (Mars, Titan). As future missions move from conceptual phases to implementation, today’s students—both astronauts and undergraduates—can access orbital data and “think outside the planet” to compare processes on Earth to processes on other rocky bodies.

Planetary analog studies are an ideal mechanism to facilitate guided and open inquiry in upper division undergraduate geoscience classes. Given that planetary processes range from space weathering on airless bodies to ice tectonics on Jupiter’s moons, inquiry exercises can potentially be incorporated into many traditional geosciences classes: geomorphology, igneous petrology, sedimentology, stratigraphy and structural geology. This presentation showcases a scaffolded exercise in which students: (1) select a planetary target and a geologic process to investigate; (2) identify mission catalogs to access real world datasets; and (3) apply their own criteria to identify appropriate Earth-based analog locations. The latter task requires students to synthesize what they know about the Earth and think critically about how that knowledge may apply to other bodies in the Solar System. With respect to levels of inquiry, this exercise provides students with general background information while encouraging them to explore their own interests through a shared lens of the Earth. The final product summarizes information in a professional extended abstract volume, modeled after the annual Lunar and Planetary Sciences (LPSC) conference.