Resources by Topic
Below are some resources to help you and your students learn background information on plants and space.
Plants
![Package of seeds](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2020-07/package_of_seeds.jpg?itok=BwXsB7wg)
Seeds and Germination
Backgrounders
Learn what’s inside a tomato seed, how it travels, and all the things it needs to germinate and grow.
![Maturation of tomato fruit](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2020-07/tomato_fruit_maturation.jpg?itok=u72yWNxI)
The Life Cycle of a Tomato Plant
Backgrounders
Learn about the pollination, fertilization, germination and growth of tomato plants.
![Seedling with sunlight](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2022-04/seedling_sunlight.jpg?itok=FWDgKDZv)
Light & Plants
Backgrounders
Learn about the process of photosynthesis and how it is affected by light levels.
![Tomatoes of different shapes, sizes and colours](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2022-02/colorful-tomatoes-of-different-sizes-and-kinds.jpg?itok=2SxEaLKl)
Tomato Taxonomy
Backgrounders
A look at the taxonomic classification of the tomato plant and the origin, history and development of tomatoes.
![Vegetables and fruits on display](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2022-04/vegetables-and-fruits.jpg?itok=crppXKAt)
Plant Pigments
Backgrounders
Why are there so many colours of plants? Learn about plant pigments and their role in plants.
![Pepper plants on the ISS](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2022-04/peppers_ISS.jpg?itok=87tPUQjm)
Tropisms in Plants
Backgrounders
Learn about the different ways that plants move in response to their environments.
![Water droplets on a leaf](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2020-01/Water_droplets_on_leaf.jpg?itok=RDkdH3A-)
Needs of Plants
Backgrounders
Plants have specific needs - light, air, water, nutrients, and space - to survive and reproduce.
Space
![Red soil on the surface of Mars](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2022-01/bonneville_crater.jpg?itok=_or8QS8d)
Soil on Mars
Backgrounders
Learn how soil is different on Mars than on Earth, and what that means for growing plants on the red planet.
![The face of the planet Mars (NASA)](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2021-12/PIA08636_orig.jpg?itok=Aa5pX4g6)
Destination Mars
Backgrounders
Discover how space agencies have explored the Red Planet in the past and present and learn about the future of human spaceflight to the red planet.
![Astronaut standing on Mars with Earth in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2020-07/astronaut-walking-on-mars.jpg?itok=AlYF5pct)
Earth vs. Mars
Backgrounders
Learn about the characteristics of the Earth and Mars, two planets in our Solar System.
![NASA Environmental Control and Life Support System](/sites/default/files/styles/resource_card_image_360x300_/public/2021-12/ECLSS_at_the_ECLSS_Test_Facility.jpg?itok=VQ7vpr6Z)
Life Support in Space - Closed Systems
Backgrounders
Learn how astronauts survive in the International Space Station.