Hack the Planet: Using CRISPR to Terraform Mars

In this experiment, students will engineer bacteria that are capable of surviving on a distant planet! Students will simulate the use of CRISPR-Cas9 to modify bacterial DNA, which will then be transformed into auxotrophic E. coli that are incapable of surviving on the Martian surface. Only bacteria that receive the successfully edited DNA can survive, thrive, and help to terraform Mars!