Greetings, fellow scientists! As Carl Sagan once said, “In order to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” Welcome to the lab manual for Introduction to Astrobiology, where we will, in a manner of speaking, invent the universe. This manual, which is intended for a general education level survey course but may be adapted for any level, covers one topic per week of a 10-week course as follows (with the exception of two labs dedicated to evolutionary biology):

1. Cosmology and the Universe
2. The Nuclear Astrophysics of Stars
3. The Solar System
4. Exoplanetary Science
5. Galactic Habitability
6. Planetary Habitability
7. Origins of Life Chemistry
8. Evolution on Other Planets
9. A Fossil Timeline of Earth
10. SETI and Responsible Science Communication

This manual was developed for a quarterly class at Tacoma Community College which has a maximum population of 24 students. Nonetheless, these materials can certainly be adapted for larger class sizes, or longer semesters, or higher or lower academic rigor.

Introduction to Astrobiology is a course which itself has been adapted from a book written by the manual author entitled LIFE IN SEVEN NUMBERS: THE BIZARRE AND BEAUTIFUL PATH FROM STARDUST TO STARSHIPS. The book is anticipated to publish via Princeton University Press in mid-late 2025. It is not necessary to read or own the source material, but the curious professor or student may consider it complementary.

With all that being said, I truly hope you and your students will enjoy this manual, which includes not only typical lab activities, but also dice games, press conferences, paintings, and wild ventures of the imagination. Have fun!