Feed aggregator

Where do the heavy elements in the Universe come from? While we know they are formed in colliding neutron stars and likely in supernova explosions, astronomers have now identified a surprising additional source: magnetars. These highly magnetised neutron stars emit powerful flares, which may result from neutrons fusing into heavier elements. This process could explain the presence of elements like gold early in the Universe's history.

China's three-person Shenzhou 19 mission came home on Wednesday (April 30) after six months in orbit.

AI-powered deepfake videos with altered facial expressions can display realistic heartbeats through skin colour changes, which may hinder one deepfake detection method

AI-powered deepfake videos with altered facial expressions can display realistic heartbeats through skin colour changes, which may hinder one deepfake detection method

What probes can be used to explore the depths of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, and other ocean worlds throughout the solar system? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers participated through the Ocean Worlds Reconnaissance and Characterization of Astrobiological Analogs (ORCAA) project to investigate how cryobots could be used to explore the oceans of other worlds in our solar system.

Curiosity Navigation

• Curiosity Home
• Science
• News and Features
• Multimedia
• Mars Missions
• Mars Home

4 min read

Sols 4522-4524: Up on the Roof NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of target “Hale Telescope” (the layered rock left of center) using its Left Navigation Camera on April 23, 2025 — Sol 4519, or Martian day 4,519 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 09:53:56 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Deborah Padgett, OPGS Task Lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Friday, April 25, 2025

On Sols 4520 and 4521, Curiosity was supposed to study layered rocks in its workspace, then drive on. Unfortunately, a communications pass didn’t go as expected, preventing this plan from being transmitted. Our rover is fine, but it has been metaphorically “twiddling its thumbs” waiting for the expected Wednesday contact from Earth. This is a process known as “runout,” which happens when Earth fails to call a spacecraft at the appointed time. The communications stations are back up now, so the team assembled a weekend plan made from Wednesday’s postponed activities plus an extra day of untargeted science observations after the drive. The additional two days prior to plan execution allowed our science team to add another interesting target to contact science at the starting location.

On Sol 4522, Curiosity will start science observations with a Mastcam 14 x 3 mosaic on the new target “Mesa Peak,” a flat-topped, layered outcrop named for a mountain in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California covered with sandstone pinnacles and offering an ocean view toward Channel Islands National Park. This will be followed by two Mastcam examinations of troughs to document evidence of differential ground motion. ChemCam will then shine its laser on the “Fan Palm” nodular rock to determine its surface composition. Its telescopic RMI camera will then image distant “Torote Bowl.” After a set of REMS observations, Curiosity will un-stow its arm and begin a detailed study of “Hale Telescope,” a finely layered stone with a target name honoring the famous 200-inch telescope (5.1 meters) on Palomar Mountain, northeast of San Diego. 

Despite being close to 80 years old,  Palomar Observatory’s Hale Telescope still enables world-class astronomy with teams from Caltech and its partner organizations competing for observing time every year. Here, 5,500 feet “up on the roof” (thank you, Carole King!) of Southern California is where I spent some of my happiest times in graduate school.

Curiosity’s arm will first deploy the APXS to touch “Hale Telescope.” Then, the MAHLI microscopic imager will take extreme close-up pictures of this rock and the neighboring “Cerro Alto” target. Finally, APXS will measure the composition of “Hale Telescope” in a measurement lasting two hours, similar to the exposure time required for the actual 200-inch telescope to measure the redshift of quasars, determining that they were located at cosmological distances. Sol 4522 ends with Curiosity stowing its arm in preparation for the next sol’s drive. 

On 4523, Curiosity will perform Mastcam mosaics of “Puerto Suelo” and “Potrero Seco,” as well as companion observation of the ChemCam target “Fan Palm” and an AEGIS-selected target from Sol 4919. ChemCam will then use laser spectroscopy to obtain surface composition of “Mesa Peak” and train the RMI telescope on intriguing formations along the side of Texoli Butte. Mastcam will follow up with an “after the laser zap” picture of “Mesa Peak.” The science block ends with a Navcam 360-degree dust-devil survey. Afterwards, Curiosity will drive around 20 meters (about 66 feet), passing near or over some large rocks, followed by post-drive imaging with the Hazcams, Navcam, and Mastcam. Afterwards, the rover will do AEGIS observations and take a MARDI picture of the ground underneath the rover. 

On Sol 4524, the science block will focus on the atmosphere, with a super horizon cloud movie, a dust-devil survey, and Mastcam dust opacity observation. There will also be ChemCam laser spectroscopy of a target selected by AEGIS. 

Early on the morning of Sol 4525, Curiosity will wake to take a morning-light mosaic of the “boxwork” formations to the west with Navcam, then turn Navcam toward the sky for suprahorizon and zenith cloud movies and a dust opacity observation across Gale Crater. Mastcam will then perform its own dust observation, which will wrap up the plan. If the team finds that Curiosity’s wheels are firmly seated on Martian soil and not rocks, our rover will again do contact science on a new set of rocks and continue its journey toward the boxwork formation.

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

Apr 29, 2025

Related Terms

• Blogs

Explore More

2 min read Searching for the Dark in the Light

Article


4 days ago

3 min read Sols 4520-4521: Prinzregententorte

Article


4 days ago

5 min read Sols 4518-4519: Thumbs up from Mars

Article


6 days ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

Curiosity Navigation

• Curiosity Home
• Science
• News and Features
• Multimedia
• Mars Missions
• Mars Home

4 min read

Sols 4522-4524: Up on the Roof NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of target “Hale Telescope” (the layered rock left of center) using its Left Navigation Camera on April 23, 2025 — Sol 4519, or Martian day 4,519 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 09:53:56 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Deborah Padgett, OPGS Task Lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Friday, April 25, 2025

On Sols 4520 and 4521, Curiosity was supposed to study layered rocks in its workspace, then drive on. Unfortunately, a communications pass didn’t go as expected, preventing this plan from being transmitted. Our rover is fine, but it has been metaphorically “twiddling its thumbs” waiting for the expected Wednesday contact from Earth. This is a process known as “runout,” which happens when Earth fails to call a spacecraft at the appointed time. The communications stations are back up now, so the team assembled a weekend plan made from Wednesday’s postponed activities plus an extra day of untargeted science observations after the drive. The additional two days prior to plan execution allowed our science team to add another interesting target to contact science at the starting location.

On Sol 4522, Curiosity will start science observations with a Mastcam 14 x 3 mosaic on the new target “Mesa Peak,” a flat-topped, layered outcrop named for a mountain in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California covered with sandstone pinnacles and offering an ocean view toward Channel Islands National Park. This will be followed by two Mastcam examinations of troughs to document evidence of differential ground motion. ChemCam will then shine its laser on the “Fan Palm” nodular rock to determine its surface composition. Its telescopic RMI camera will then image distant “Torote Bowl.” After a set of REMS observations, Curiosity will un-stow its arm and begin a detailed study of “Hale Telescope,” a finely layered stone with a target name honoring the famous 200-inch telescope (5.1 meters) on Palomar Mountain, northeast of San Diego. 

Despite being close to 80 years old,  Palomar Observatory’s Hale Telescope still enables world-class astronomy with teams from Caltech and its partner organizations competing for observing time every year. Here, 5,500 feet “up on the roof” (thank you, Carole King!) of Southern California is where I spent some of my happiest times in graduate school.

Curiosity’s arm will first deploy the APXS to touch “Hale Telescope.” Then, the MAHLI microscopic imager will take extreme close-up pictures of this rock and the neighboring “Cerro Alto” target. Finally, APXS will measure the composition of “Hale Telescope” in a measurement lasting two hours, similar to the exposure time required for the actual 200-inch telescope to measure the redshift of quasars, determining that they were located at cosmological distances. Sol 4522 ends with Curiosity stowing its arm in preparation for the next sol’s drive. 

On 4523, Curiosity will perform Mastcam mosaics of “Puerto Suelo” and “Potrero Seco,” as well as companion observation of the ChemCam target “Fan Palm” and an AEGIS-selected target from Sol 4919. ChemCam will then use laser spectroscopy to obtain surface composition of “Mesa Peak” and train the RMI telescope on intriguing formations along the side of Texoli Butte. Mastcam will follow up with an “after the laser zap” picture of “Mesa Peak.” The science block ends with a Navcam 360-degree dust-devil survey. Afterwards, Curiosity will drive around 20 meters (about 66 feet), passing near or over some large rocks, followed by post-drive imaging with the Hazcams, Navcam, and Mastcam. Afterwards, the rover will do AEGIS observations and take a MARDI picture of the ground underneath the rover. 

On Sol 4524, the science block will focus on the atmosphere, with a super horizon cloud movie, a dust-devil survey, and Mastcam dust opacity observation. There will also be ChemCam laser spectroscopy of a target selected by AEGIS. 

Early on the morning of Sol 4525, Curiosity will wake to take a morning-light mosaic of the “boxwork” formations to the west with Navcam, then turn Navcam toward the sky for suprahorizon and zenith cloud movies and a dust opacity observation across Gale Crater. Mastcam will then perform its own dust observation, which will wrap up the plan. If the team finds that Curiosity’s wheels are firmly seated on Martian soil and not rocks, our rover will again do contact science on a new set of rocks and continue its journey toward the boxwork formation.

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

Apr 29, 2025

Related Terms

• Blogs

Explore More

2 min read Searching for the Dark in the Light

Article


4 days ago

3 min read Sols 4520-4521: Prinzregententorte

Article


4 days ago

5 min read Sols 4518-4519: Thumbs up from Mars

Article


6 days ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

Human wounds take almost three times as long to heal as those of other primates, which may come down to our lack of fur

Human wounds take almost three times as long to heal as those of other primates, which may come down to our lack of fur

A European reentry capsule notched some important milestones on its first-ever spaceflight last week — and took some photos to commemorate the trip.

Stars don't exist in isolation. They have siblings and exist in clusters, associations, and groups. The ESA's Gaia mission found an unusual group of stars rapidly leaving its birthplace behind and dispersing into the wider galaxy. While that's not necessarily unusual behaviour, it is for such a large group. Could supernovae explosions be responsible?

8 Min Read How to Contribute to Citizen Science with NASA

A number of NASA projects use mobile phone apps to put satellite data into the palm of your hand, and allow intrepid citizen scientists to upload data.

Credits:
NASA

A cell phone, a computer—and your curiosity—is all you need to become a NASA citizen scientist and contribute to projects about Earth, the solar system, and beyond.

Science is built from small grains of sand, and you can contribute yours from any corner of the world.

All you need is a cell phone or a computer with an internet connection to begin a scientific adventure. Can you imagine making a pioneering discovery in the cosmos? Want to help solve problems that could improve life on our planet? Or maybe you dream of helping solve an ancient mystery of the universe? All of this is possible through NASA’s Citizen Science program.

NASA defines citizen science, or participatory science, as “science projects that rely on volunteers,” said Dr. Marc Kuchner, an astrophysicist and the Citizen Science Officer in the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

For decades, volunteers have been supporting NASA researchers in different fields and in a variety of ways, depending on the project. They help by taking measurements, sorting data from NASA missions, and deepening our understanding of the universe and our home planet. It all counts.

“That’s science for you: It’s collaborative,” said Kuchner, who oversees the more than 30 citizen science projects NASA offers. “I connect the public and scientists to get more NASA science done.”

NASA astrophysicist Marc Kuchner is a pioneer in participatory science and today serves as NASA’s Citizen Science program officer. In 2014, Kuchner created the Disk Detective project, which helps NASA scientists study how planets form. Kuchner has also been the principal investigator for some of the agency’s many citizen science projects, but today he oversees the portfolio and promotes volunteer participation around the world.
Credit: David Friedlander A menu of projects for all tastes

Citizen scientists can come from anywhere in the world—they do not have to be U.S. citizens or residents. Volunteers help NASA look for planets in other solar systems, called exoplanets; sort clouds in Earth’s sky; observe solar eclipses; or detect comets and asteroids. Some of those space rocks are even named after the volunteers who helped find them.

Mass participation is key in initiatives that require as many human eyes as possible. “There are science projects that you can’t do without the help of a big team,” Kuchner said. For example, projects that need large datasets from space telescopes—or “things that are physically big and you need people in different places looking from different angles,” he said.

One example is Aurorasaurus, which invites people to observe and classify northern and southern auroras. “We try to study them with satellites, but it really helps to have people on the ground taking photos from different places at different times,” he explained.

“Part of the way we serve our country and humankind is by sharing not just the pretty pictures from our satellites, but the entire experience of doing science,” Kuchner said.

More than 3 million people have participated in the program. Kuchner believes that shows how much people want to be part of what he calls the “roller coaster” of science. “They want to go on that adventure with us, and we are thrilled to have them.”

The dream of discovering

“You can help scientists who are now at NASA and other organizations around the world to discover interesting things,” said Faber Burgos, a citizen scientist and science communicator from Colombia. “Truth be told, I’ve always dreamed of making history.”

Colombian citizen scientist Faber Burgos studied Modern Languages at the Colombian School of Industrial Careers and has a university degree in Classical Archaeology. Today, he is dedicated to disseminating science content through his social media accounts, focusing on children. In 2020, he and his team launched a balloon probe into the stratosphere with a camera that captured the curvature of the Earth, with the aim of demonstrating that the Earth is round. The video of that feat exceeds 97 million views on his Facebook account, earning him a Guinness World Record.
Credit: Courtesy of Faber Burgos

Burgos has been involved in two projects for the past four years: the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), which searches the sky for potentially dangerous asteroids, and Backyard Worlds: Planet 9. This project uses data from NASA’s now-completed Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and its follow-up mission, NEOWISE, to search for brown dwarfs and a hypothetical ninth planet.

“There are really amazing participants in this project,” said Kuchner, who helped launch it in 2015. NASA’s WISE and NEOWISE missions detected about 2 billion sources in the sky. “So, the question is: Among those many sources, are any of them new unknowns?” he said.

The project has already found more than 4,000 brown dwarfs. These are Jupiter-sized objects—balls of gas that are too big to be planets, but too small to be stars. Volunteers have even helped discover a new type of brown dwarf.

Participants in the project are also hopeful they’ll find a hypothetical ninth planet, possibly Neptune-sized, in an orbit far beyond Pluto.

The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project asks volunteers to help search for new objects at the edge of our solar system. The assignment is to review images from NASA’s past WISE and NEOWISE missions in search of two types of astronomical objects: brown dwarfs(balls of gas the same size as  Jupiter that have too little mass to be considered stars) and low-mass stars. Or, even, the hypothetical ninth planet of our Sun, known as Planet nine, or Planet X. The image shows an artist’s rendering of such a hypothetical world orbiting far from the Sun.
Credit: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC) Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Burgos explained that analyzing the images is easy. “If it’s a moving object, it’s obviously going to be something of interest,” he said. “Usually, when you see these images, everything is still. But if there’s an object moving, you have to keep an eye on it.”

Once a citizen scientist marks the object across the full image sequence, they send the information to NASA scientists to evaluate.

“As a citizen scientist, I’m happy to do my bit and, hopefully, one day discover something very interesting,” he said. “That’s the beauty of NASA—it invites everyone to be a scientist. Here, it doesn’t matter what you are, but your desire to learn.”

The first step

To become a NASA citizen scientist, start by visiting the program’s website. There you’ll find a complete list of available projects with links to their respective sites. Some are available in Spanish and other languages. Many projects are also hosted on the Zooniverse platform, which has been available since 2006.

“Another cool way to get involved is to come to one of our live events,” said Kuchner. These are virtual events open to the public, where NASA scientists present their projects and invite people to participate. “Pick a project you like—and if it’s not fun, pick a different one,” he advised. “There are wonderful relationships to be had if you reach out to scientists and other participants.”

Another way for people to get involved in citizen science is to participate in the annual NASA International Space Apps Challenge, the largest global hackathon. This two-day event creates innovation through international collaboration, providing an opportunity for participants to use NASA’s free and open data and agency partners’ space-based data to tackle real-world problems on Earth and in space. The next NASA International Space Apps Challenge will be October 4-5, 2025.
Credit: NASA Age is not the limit

People of all ages can be citizen scientists. Some projects are kid-friendly, such as Nemo-Net, an iPad game that invites participants to color coral reefs to help sort them. “I’d like to encourage young people to start there—or try a project with one of the older people in their life,” Kuchner said.

Citizen science can also take place in classrooms. In the Growing Beyond Earth project, teachers and students run experiments on how to grow plants in space for future missions. The IASC project also works with high schools to help students detect asteroids.

A student waters small plants inside a Growing Beyond Earth citizen science project grow box.
Credit: NASA Projects by the community, for the community

GLOBE Observer is another initiative with an international network of teachers and students. The platform offers a range of projects—many in Spanish—that invite people to collect data using their cell phones.

One of the most popular is the GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper, which tracks the migration and spread of mosquitoes that carry diseases. “It’s a way to help save lives—tracking the vectors that transmit malaria and Zika, among others,” Kuchner said.

Other GLOBE projects explore everything from ground cover to cloud types. Some use astronomical phenomena visible to everyone. For example, during the 2024 total solar eclipse, participants measured air temperature using their phones and shared that data with NASA scientists.

The full experience of doing science

No prior studies are needed, but many volunteers go on to collaborate on—or even lead—scientific research. More than 500 NASA citizen scientists have co-authored scientific publications.

One of them is Hugo Durantini Luca, from Córdoba, Argentina, who has participated in 17 published articles, with more on the way. For years, he explored various science projects, looking for one where he could contribute more actively.

Durantini Luca participated in one of NASA’s first citizen science projects, launched in 2006: Stardust at home. Still ongoing, this project invites volunteers to participate in the search for evidence of interstellar dust on the aerogel and aluminum foil collectors returned by NASA’s Stardust mission, using an online virtual microscope.
Credit: NASA

He participated in NASA’s first citizen science project, Stardust@home, which invites users to search for interstellar dust particles in collectors from the Stardust mission, using a virtual microscope.

In 2014, he discovered Disk Detective, a project that searches for disks around stars, where planets may form. By looking at images from the WISE and NEOWISE missions, participants can help understand how worlds are born and how solar systems evolve.

“And, incidentally, if we find planets or some sign of life, all the better,” said Durantini Luca.

Although that remains a dream, they have made other discoveries—like a new kind of stellar disk called the “Peter Pan Disk,” which appears young even though the star it surrounds is not.

Durantini Luca participated in one of NASA’s first citizen science projects, launched in 2006: Stardust at home. Still ongoing, this project invites volunteers to participate in the search for evidence of interstellar dust on the aerogel and aluminum foil collectors returned by NASA’s Stardust mission, using an online virtual microscope.
Credit: NASA Science in person

In 2016, Durantini Luca got the chance to support Disk Detective with his own observations from the southern hemisphere. He traveled to El Leoncito Astronomical Complex (CASLEO), an observatory in San Juan, Argentina. There, he learned to use a spectrograph—an instrument that breaks down starlight to analyze its composition.

He treasures that experience. “Curiously, it was the first time in my life I used a telescope,” he said.

In 2016, citizen scientist Hugo Durantini Luca traveled for 18 hours to the El Leoncito Astronomical Complex (CASLEO), at the foot of the Andes Mountains. From there, he made observations of a candidate star of the Disk Detective project.
Credit: Luciano García

While in-person opportunities are rare, both virtual and physical events help build community. Citizen scientists stay in touch weekly through various channels.

“Several of us are friends already—after so many years of bad jokes on calls,” said Durantini Luca.

“People send me pictures of how they met,” said Kuchner. He said the program has even changed how he does science. “It’s changed my life,” he said. “Science is already cool—and this makes it even cooler.”

About the Author NASA Science Editorial Team

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

Apr 29, 2025

Related Terms

• Citizen Science
• Earth Science
• Get Involved
• The Solar System
• The Universe

Explore More

3 min read Help Classify Galaxies Seen by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope!

Article


8 hours ago

6 min read Where Does Gold Come From? NASA Data Has Clues

Article


9 hours ago

2 min read Hubble Visits Glittering Cluster, Capturing Its Ultraviolet Light

Article


4 days ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

8 Min Read How to Contribute to Citizen Science with NASA

A number of NASA projects use mobile phone apps to put satellite data into the palm of your hand, and allow intrepid citizen scientists to upload data.

Credits:
NASA

A cell phone, a computer—and your curiosity—is all you need to become a NASA citizen scientist and contribute to projects about Earth, the solar system, and beyond.

Science is built from small grains of sand, and you can contribute yours from any corner of the world.

All you need is a cell phone or a computer with an internet connection to begin a scientific adventure. Can you imagine making a pioneering discovery in the cosmos? Want to help solve problems that could improve life on our planet? Or maybe you dream of helping solve an ancient mystery of the universe? All of this is possible through NASA’s Citizen Science program.

NASA defines citizen science, or participatory science, as “science projects that rely on volunteers,” said Dr. Marc Kuchner, an astrophysicist and the Citizen Science Officer in the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

For decades, volunteers have been supporting NASA researchers in different fields and in a variety of ways, depending on the project. They help by taking measurements, sorting data from NASA missions, and deepening our understanding of the universe and our home planet. It all counts.

“That’s science for you: It’s collaborative,” said Kuchner, who oversees the more than 30 citizen science projects NASA offers. “I connect the public and scientists to get more NASA science done.”

NASA astrophysicist Marc Kuchner is a pioneer in participatory science and today serves as NASA’s Citizen Science program officer. In 2014, Kuchner created the Disk Detective project, which helps NASA scientists study how planets form. Kuchner has also been the principal investigator for some of the agency’s many citizen science projects, but today he oversees the portfolio and promotes volunteer participation around the world.
Credit: David Friedlander A menu of projects for all tastes

Citizen scientists can come from anywhere in the world—they do not have to be U.S. citizens or residents. Volunteers help NASA look for planets in other solar systems, called exoplanets; sort clouds in Earth’s sky; observe solar eclipses; or detect comets and asteroids. Some of those space rocks are even named after the volunteers who helped find them.

Mass participation is key in initiatives that require as many human eyes as possible. “There are science projects that you can’t do without the help of a big team,” Kuchner said. For example, projects that need large datasets from space telescopes—or “things that are physically big and you need people in different places looking from different angles,” he said.

One example is Aurorasaurus, which invites people to observe and classify northern and southern auroras. “We try to study them with satellites, but it really helps to have people on the ground taking photos from different places at different times,” he explained.

“Part of the way we serve our country and humankind is by sharing not just the pretty pictures from our satellites, but the entire experience of doing science,” Kuchner said.

More than 3 million people have participated in the program. Kuchner believes that shows how much people want to be part of what he calls the “roller coaster” of science. “They want to go on that adventure with us, and we are thrilled to have them.”

The dream of discovering

“You can help scientists who are now at NASA and other organizations around the world to discover interesting things,” said Faber Burgos, a citizen scientist and science communicator from Colombia. “Truth be told, I’ve always dreamed of making history.”

Colombian citizen scientist Faber Burgos studied Modern Languages at the Colombian School of Industrial Careers and has a university degree in Classical Archaeology. Today, he is dedicated to disseminating science content through his social media accounts, focusing on children. In 2020, he and his team launched a balloon probe into the stratosphere with a camera that captured the curvature of the Earth, with the aim of demonstrating that the Earth is round. The video of that feat exceeds 97 million views on his Facebook account, earning him a Guinness World Record.
Credit: Courtesy of Faber Burgos

Burgos has been involved in two projects for the past four years: the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), which searches the sky for potentially dangerous asteroids, and Backyard Worlds: Planet 9. This project uses data from NASA’s now-completed Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and its follow-up mission, NEOWISE, to search for brown dwarfs and a hypothetical ninth planet.

“There are really amazing participants in this project,” said Kuchner, who helped launch it in 2015. NASA’s WISE and NEOWISE missions detected about 2 billion sources in the sky. “So, the question is: Among those many sources, are any of them new unknowns?” he said.

The project has already found more than 4,000 brown dwarfs. These are Jupiter-sized objects—balls of gas that are too big to be planets, but too small to be stars. Volunteers have even helped discover a new type of brown dwarf.

Participants in the project are also hopeful they’ll find a hypothetical ninth planet, possibly Neptune-sized, in an orbit far beyond Pluto.

The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project asks volunteers to help search for new objects at the edge of our solar system. The assignment is to review images from NASA’s past WISE and NEOWISE missions in search of two types of astronomical objects: brown dwarfs(balls of gas the same size as  Jupiter that have too little mass to be considered stars) and low-mass stars. Or, even, the hypothetical ninth planet of our Sun, known as Planet nine, or Planet X. The image shows an artist’s rendering of such a hypothetical world orbiting far from the Sun.
Credit: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC) Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Burgos explained that analyzing the images is easy. “If it’s a moving object, it’s obviously going to be something of interest,” he said. “Usually, when you see these images, everything is still. But if there’s an object moving, you have to keep an eye on it.”

Once a citizen scientist marks the object across the full image sequence, they send the information to NASA scientists to evaluate.

“As a citizen scientist, I’m happy to do my bit and, hopefully, one day discover something very interesting,” he said. “That’s the beauty of NASA—it invites everyone to be a scientist. Here, it doesn’t matter what you are, but your desire to learn.”

The first step

To become a NASA citizen scientist, start by visiting the program’s website. There you’ll find a complete list of available projects with links to their respective sites. Some are available in Spanish and other languages. Many projects are also hosted on the Zooniverse platform, which has been available since 2006.

“Another cool way to get involved is to come to one of our live events,” said Kuchner. These are virtual events open to the public, where NASA scientists present their projects and invite people to participate. “Pick a project you like—and if it’s not fun, pick a different one,” he advised. “There are wonderful relationships to be had if you reach out to scientists and other participants.”

Another way for people to get involved in citizen science is to participate in the annual NASA International Space Apps Challenge, the largest global hackathon. This two-day event creates innovation through international collaboration, providing an opportunity for participants to use NASA’s free and open data and agency partners’ space-based data to tackle real-world problems on Earth and in space. The next NASA International Space Apps Challenge will be October 4-5, 2025.
Credit: NASA Age is not the limit

People of all ages can be citizen scientists. Some projects are kid-friendly, such as Nemo-Net, an iPad game that invites participants to color coral reefs to help sort them. “I’d like to encourage young people to start there—or try a project with one of the older people in their life,” Kuchner said.

Citizen science can also take place in classrooms. In the Growing Beyond Earth project, teachers and students run experiments on how to grow plants in space for future missions. The IASC project also works with high schools to help students detect asteroids.

A student waters small plants inside a Growing Beyond Earth citizen science project grow box.
Credit: NASA Projects by the community, for the community

GLOBE Observer is another initiative with an international network of teachers and students. The platform offers a range of projects—many in Spanish—that invite people to collect data using their cell phones.

One of the most popular is the GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper, which tracks the migration and spread of mosquitoes that carry diseases. “It’s a way to help save lives—tracking the vectors that transmit malaria and Zika, among others,” Kuchner said.

Other GLOBE projects explore everything from ground cover to cloud types. Some use astronomical phenomena visible to everyone. For example, during the 2024 total solar eclipse, participants measured air temperature using their phones and shared that data with NASA scientists.

The full experience of doing science

No prior studies are needed, but many volunteers go on to collaborate on—or even lead—scientific research. More than 500 NASA citizen scientists have co-authored scientific publications.

One of them is Hugo Durantini Luca, from Córdoba, Argentina, who has participated in 17 published articles, with more on the way. For years, he explored various science projects, looking for one where he could contribute more actively.

Durantini Luca participated in one of NASA’s first citizen science projects, launched in 2006: Stardust at home. Still ongoing, this project invites volunteers to participate in the search for evidence of interstellar dust on the aerogel and aluminum foil collectors returned by NASA’s Stardust mission, using an online virtual microscope.
Credit: NASA

He participated in NASA’s first citizen science project, Stardust@home, which invites users to search for interstellar dust particles in collectors from the Stardust mission, using a virtual microscope.

In 2014, he discovered Disk Detective, a project that searches for disks around stars, where planets may form. By looking at images from the WISE and NEOWISE missions, participants can help understand how worlds are born and how solar systems evolve.

“And, incidentally, if we find planets or some sign of life, all the better,” said Durantini Luca.

Although that remains a dream, they have made other discoveries—like a new kind of stellar disk called the “Peter Pan Disk,” which appears young even though the star it surrounds is not.

Durantini Luca participated in one of NASA’s first citizen science projects, launched in 2006: Stardust at home. Still ongoing, this project invites volunteers to participate in the search for evidence of interstellar dust on the aerogel and aluminum foil collectors returned by NASA’s Stardust mission, using an online virtual microscope.
Credit: NASA Science in person

In 2016, Durantini Luca got the chance to support Disk Detective with his own observations from the southern hemisphere. He traveled to El Leoncito Astronomical Complex (CASLEO), an observatory in San Juan, Argentina. There, he learned to use a spectrograph—an instrument that breaks down starlight to analyze its composition.

He treasures that experience. “Curiously, it was the first time in my life I used a telescope,” he said.

In 2016, citizen scientist Hugo Durantini Luca traveled for 18 hours to the El Leoncito Astronomical Complex (CASLEO), at the foot of the Andes Mountains. From there, he made observations of a candidate star of the Disk Detective project.
Credit: Luciano García

While in-person opportunities are rare, both virtual and physical events help build community. Citizen scientists stay in touch weekly through various channels.

“Several of us are friends already—after so many years of bad jokes on calls,” said Durantini Luca.

“People send me pictures of how they met,” said Kuchner. He said the program has even changed how he does science. “It’s changed my life,” he said. “Science is already cool—and this makes it even cooler.”

About the Author NASA Science Editorial Team

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

Apr 29, 2025

Related Terms

• Citizen Science
• Earth Science
• Get Involved
• The Solar System
• The Universe

Explore More

3 min read Help Classify Galaxies Seen by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope!

Article


8 hours ago

6 min read Where Does Gold Come From? NASA Data Has Clues

Article


9 hours ago

2 min read Hubble Visits Glittering Cluster, Capturing Its Ultraviolet Light

Article


4 days ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

The Trump administration has dismissed all of the researchers working on the next installment of the National Climate Assessment, a crucial report on how climate change is affecting the country

The Trump administration has dismissed all of the researchers working on the next installment of the National Climate Assessment, a crucial report on how climate change is affecting the country

Getting missions to land successfully on the Moon has been difficult. Recent missions, such as IM-1 and IM-2, which the private company Intuitive Machines completed, have been qualified successes at best, with both landers settling at unintended angles and breaking parts of them off along the way. Such experiences offer excellent learning opportunities, though, and NASA is confident that a third time might be a charm for a flawless mission. There will be a lot riding on IM-3, the third Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission, including a set of rovers and ground station for a NASA experiment called the Cooperative Autonomous Distribution Robotic Exploration (CADRE), which recently passed its Verification and Validation (V&V) test for one of it's most essential parts. This software architecture handles tasks for each rover and binds them into a cohesive whole.

It was about one in the morning, four hours after an explosion tore through the Apollo 13 spacecraft, when Ed Smylie realized they had to do something about the carbon dioxide.

What does the future of space exploration look like? At the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, NASA gave student robotics teams and industry leaders a first-hand look—complete with lunar rovers, robotic arms, and real conversations about shaping the next era of discovery. 

Students and mentors experience NASA exhibits at the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston from April 16-18. NASA/Sumer Loggins

NASA engaged directly with the Artemis Generation, connecting with more than 55,000 students and 75,000 parents and mentors. Through interactive exhibits and discussions, students explored the agency’s robotic technologies, learned about STEM career paths and internships, and gained insight into NASA’s bold vision for the future. Many expressed interest in internships—and dreams of one day contributing to NASA’s missions to explore the unknown for the benefit of all humanity. 

Multiple NASA centers participated in the event, including Johnson Space Center in Houston; Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Langley Research Center in Virginia; Ames Research Center in California; Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in West Virginia. Each brought unique technologies and expertise to the exhibit floor. 

FIRST Robotics attendees explore NASA’s exhibit and learn about the agency’s mission during the event.NASA/Robert Markowitz

Displays highlighted key innovations such as: 

• Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems: A modular system of small robots and smart algorithms that can autonomously assemble large-scale structures in space. 

• Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration: A team of small lunar rovers designed to operate independently, navigating and making decisions together without human input. 

• Lightweight Surface Manipulation System AutoNomy Capabilities Development for Surface Operations and Construction: A robotic arm system built for lunar construction tasks, developed through NASA’s Early Career Initiative. 

• Space Exploration Vehicle: A pressurized rover prototype built for human exploration of planetary surfaces, offering attendees a look at how future astronauts may one day travel across the Moon or Mars. 

• Mars Perseverance Rover: An exhibit detailing the rover’s mission to search for ancient microbial life and collect samples for future return to Earth. 

• In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator: A lunar bulldozer-dump truck hybrid designed to mine and transport regolith, supporting long-term exploration through the Artemis campaign. 

Visitors view NASA’s Space Exploration Vehicle on display.NASA/Robert Markowitz

“These demonstrations help students see themselves in NASA’s mission and the next frontier of lunar exploration,” said Johnson Public Affairs Specialist Andrew Knotts. “They can picture their future as part of the team shaping how we live and work in space.” 

Since the FIRST Championship relocated to Houston in 2017, NASA has mentored more than 250 robotics teams annually, supporting elementary through high school students. The agency continued that tradition for this year’s event, and celebrated the fusion of science, engineering, and creativity that defines both robotics and space exploration. 

NASA’s booth draws crowds at FIRST Robotics 2025 with hands-on exhibits. NASA/Robert Markowitz

Local students also had the chance to learn about the Texas High School Aerospace Scholars program, which offers Texas high school juniors hands-on experience designing space missions and solving engineering challenges—an early gateway into NASA’s world of exploration. 

As the competition came to a close, students and mentors were already looking ahead to the next season—energized by new ideas, strengthened friendships, and dreams of future missions. 

NASA volunteers at the FIRST Robotics World Championship on April 17, 2025. NASA/Robert Markowitz

“It was a true privilege to represent NASA to so many inspiring students, educators, and mentors,” said Jeanette Snyder, aerospace systems engineer for Gateway. “Not too long ago, I was a robotics student myself, and I still use skills I developed through FIRST Robotics in my work as a NASA engineer. Seeing so much excitement around engineering and technology makes me optimistic for the future of space exploration. I can’t wait to see these students become the next generation of NASA engineers and world changers.” 

With the enthusiastic support of volunteers, mentors, sponsors, and industry leaders, and NASA’s continued commitment to STEM outreach, the future of exploration is in bold, capable hands. 

See the full event come to life in the panorama videos below.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Explore More 4 min read NASA Advances Precision Landing Technology with Field Test at Kennedy Article 1 day ago 6 min read NASA’s Juno Mission Gets Under Jupiter’s and Io’s Surface Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA’s Lunar Drill Technology Passes Tests on the Moon Article 1 day ago

What does the future of space exploration look like? At the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, NASA gave student robotics teams and industry leaders a first-hand look—complete with lunar rovers, robotic arms, and real conversations about shaping the next era of discovery. 

Students and mentors experience NASA exhibits at the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston from April 16-18. NASA/Sumer Loggins

NASA engaged directly with the Artemis Generation, connecting with more than 55,000 students and 75,000 parents and mentors. Through interactive exhibits and discussions, students explored the agency’s robotic technologies, learned about STEM career paths and internships, and gained insight into NASA’s bold vision for the future. Many expressed interest in internships—and dreams of one day contributing to NASA’s missions to explore the unknown for the benefit of all humanity. 

Multiple NASA centers participated in the event, including Johnson Space Center in Houston; Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Langley Research Center in Virginia; Ames Research Center in California; Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in West Virginia. Each brought unique technologies and expertise to the exhibit floor. 

FIRST Robotics attendees explore NASA’s exhibit and learn about the agency’s mission during the event.NASA/Robert Markowitz

Displays highlighted key innovations such as: 

• Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems: A modular system of small robots and smart algorithms that can autonomously assemble large-scale structures in space. 

• Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration: A team of small lunar rovers designed to operate independently, navigating and making decisions together without human input. 

• Lightweight Surface Manipulation System AutoNomy Capabilities Development for Surface Operations and Construction: A robotic arm system built for lunar construction tasks, developed through NASA’s Early Career Initiative. 

• Space Exploration Vehicle: A pressurized rover prototype built for human exploration of planetary surfaces, offering attendees a look at how future astronauts may one day travel across the Moon or Mars. 

• Mars Perseverance Rover: An exhibit detailing the rover’s mission to search for ancient microbial life and collect samples for future return to Earth. 

• In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator: A lunar bulldozer-dump truck hybrid designed to mine and transport regolith, supporting long-term exploration through the Artemis campaign. 

Visitors view NASA’s Space Exploration Vehicle on display.NASA/Robert Markowitz

“These demonstrations help students see themselves in NASA’s mission and the next frontier of lunar exploration,” said Johnson Public Affairs Specialist Andrew Knotts. “They can picture their future as part of the team shaping how we live and work in space.” 

Since the FIRST Championship relocated to Houston in 2017, NASA has mentored more than 250 robotics teams annually, supporting elementary through high school students. The agency continued that tradition for this year’s event, and celebrated the fusion of science, engineering, and creativity that defines both robotics and space exploration. 

NASA’s booth draws crowds at FIRST Robotics 2025 with hands-on exhibits. NASA/Robert Markowitz

Local students also had the chance to learn about the Texas High School Aerospace Scholars program, which offers Texas high school juniors hands-on experience designing space missions and solving engineering challenges—an early gateway into NASA’s world of exploration. 

As the competition came to a close, students and mentors were already looking ahead to the next season—energized by new ideas, strengthened friendships, and dreams of future missions. 

NASA volunteers at the FIRST Robotics World Championship on April 17, 2025. NASA/Robert Markowitz

“It was a true privilege to represent NASA to so many inspiring students, educators, and mentors,” said Jeanette Snyder, aerospace systems engineer for Gateway. “Not too long ago, I was a robotics student myself, and I still use skills I developed through FIRST Robotics in my work as a NASA engineer. Seeing so much excitement around engineering and technology makes me optimistic for the future of space exploration. I can’t wait to see these students become the next generation of NASA engineers and world changers.” 

With the enthusiastic support of volunteers, mentors, sponsors, and industry leaders, and NASA’s continued commitment to STEM outreach, the future of exploration is in bold, capable hands. 

See the full event come to life in the panorama videos below.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Explore More 4 min read NASA Advances Precision Landing Technology with Field Test at Kennedy Article 1 day ago 6 min read NASA’s Juno Mission Gets Under Jupiter’s and Io’s Surface Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA’s Lunar Drill Technology Passes Tests on the Moon Article 1 day ago

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket suffered an anomaly during its sixth-ever launch today (April 29), resulting in the loss of its payload, a Lockheed Martin technology demonstration.