You have been selected as a member of a group to interest fourth and fifth grade students in current science issues. As you searched for science topics to capture their attention, you came across this headline: Microbes Create Earth's Atmosphere. Although this seems like a tabloid heading, it is not. NASA researchers are studying bacteria, other microbes, and the gases they produce in microbial mat ecosystems to see how life formed on Earth. Early microbial ecosystems are also studied to help scientists discover life on other planets. This research is even being used in the quest for life on Mars. You wonder, how do you use earth's microbial ecosystems to look for life on other planets?

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