Choose a Project Below and Do NASA Science!

Join NASA researchers and discover the secrets of the universe, search for life elsewhere, and protect and improve life on Earth and in space.

Space telescope image showing hundreds of objects of different colors, shapes, and sizes scattered across the black background of space. There are small red blobs; larger, fuzzy white or blueish ball-shaped masses with bright centers; white, pink, or blue disc shapes; clear spiral structures; and barely discernible specs. Eighty-three of the smaller objects in the image are circled in green. Some of the circles are close together; some are far apart; some overlap. There is no apparent pattern in the distribution.
Earth-shaped word cloud made up of the many languages in which NASA Citizen Science projects are available, including Arabic, Bengali, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Thai, Urdu, and Vietnamese. In the center of the word cloud, the words Do NASA Science are prominent.

Translated citizen science materials

Enhanced color makes individual bands of rings stand out in comparison to one another.

More than 500 NASA citizen scientists co-authored publications

A grey-haired man and three young women, all in waders adn all with big smiles, stand knee-deep in water next to a LOCSS lake level gauge they are in the process of installing. The gauge itself is partially blocked from view by a black post, presumably the one on which they will mount the new gauge.

Who participates, why they do it and what they've discovered

Resources to help you collaborate with volunteers

Citizen Science

Through the projects below, sometimes called "citizen science" or "participatory science" projects, volunteers and amateurs have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries. These 30 projects are open to everyone around the world (no citizenship required).

The logo features a stylized illustration of a cute, smiling asteroid with a gray, cratered surface flying through space, surrounded by a large yellow-orange planet with wavy stripes, resembling Jupiter. Additional asteroids, depicted in different shades of gray and beige, are scattered around the planet. The word "EXOASTERIDS" wraps around the lower part of the planet in white capital letters, with a small asteroid replacing the letter "O." The overall design has a playful and cheerful vibe, with soft, rounded shapes and a warm color palette.

Exoasteroids

Search space telescope images for white dwarfs that flash as they devour asteroids. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop.

An image of a celestial scene showing two bright stars against a dark background, with one star appearing larger and more luminous on the right, and a smaller, dimmer star to the left. A planet is silhouetted as it transits in front of the larger star. The background is filled with a soft glow and scattered faint stars.

Eclipsing Binary Patrol

Examine space telescope data to find special rare pairs of stars. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Active Asteroids

Inspect images to find comet-like objects hiding in the asteroid belt. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Are we alone in the universe?

Examine radio signals to help search for intelligent life beyond Earth. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Backyard Worlds: Planet 9

Search the realm beyond Neptune for new planets, nearby stars and more. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

A black square with a white off-centered dot. Two triangles radiate out of the dot from brown to bright pink. A purple oval ring circles the white dot and an aqua line spikes up and level out.

Burst Chaser

Decode signals from Gamma Ray Bursts, the universe’s largest explosions. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Cloudspotting on Mars

Trace exotic clouds in the Martian atmosphere. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Puffy text in cream reads Cool Neighbors and sits on top of a cartoon style planet with another planet in the upper right corner. The logo is surrounded by a thick orange stroke line.

Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors

Discover Jupiter-like objects, balls of gas called brown dwarfs in our cosmic backyard. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Daily Minor Planet

Discover asteroids and other small objects in the solar system. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Dark Energy Explorers

Uncover dark energy, a mysterious force driving galaxies apart. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Disk Detective

Search for dusty disks around stars where distant worlds form and dwell. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Exoplanet Watch

Track new planets beyond our solar system using backyard telescope data. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

GLOBE Observer: Clouds, Land Cover, Mosquito Habitats

Choose from several different projects to help scientists learn about planet Earth. For anyone with a smartphone. Kid friendly! Read Project Summary

International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Teams from schools and communities: Search for asteroids and help keep Earth safe. Kid friendly! Read Project Summary

JunoCam

Share your images of Jupiter and participate in the JunoCam mission. For anyone with a laptop.

Landslide Reporter

See a landslide or read about one? Submit your observations. For anyone with a laptop. Read Project Summary

Planet Hunters TESS

Search for planets outside our solar system using data from NASA’s TESS mission. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

Cartoon illustration of an astronaut wearing a red cowboy hat and holding a lasso with a rainbow colored spiral galaxy inside the loop

Redshift Wrangler

Clock the expansion of the universe using light from distant galaxies. For anyone with a smartphone or laptop. Read Project Summary

The Sun's atmosphere, shown in red, with a bright white stream of a comet shooting through it.

Sungrazer Project

Discover new comets near the Sun. For anyone with a laptop. Read Project Summary

Aurorasaurus

Submit your observations of the Northern and Southern lights. Read Project Summary

Chesapeake Water Watch

Live near the Chesapeake Bay? Take water-quality data with your smartphone. Read Project Summary

Fjord Phyto

Visiting Antarctica? Investigate changes in phytoplankton along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Read Project Summary

Fresh Eyes on Ice

Live in Alaska? Report ice conditions to keep people safe and climate scientists informed. Read Project Summary

Growing Beyond Earth

Middle and high school teachers in the U.S.: your students can test plants for use in space missions. Kid friendly!

HamSCI

Amateur radio operators: help scientists study Earth’s ionosphere. Read Project Summary

Lake Observations by Citizen Scientists and Satellites

Near a lake? Report the water level with your smartphone. Certain lakes only. Read Project Summary

Mountain Rain or Snow

Near the mountains? Help climate scientists by using your cell phone to report rain and snow. Read Project Summary

A collage of images that includes an orange color sun with solar flares, the planet Jupiter, two colorful charts and the title RADIO JOVE

Radio JOVE

Build your own radio telescope and study Jupiter, the Sun, the Earth’s Ionosphere, and the Milky Way galaxy. Read Project Summary

Spritacular

Have a camera? Submit your own photographs of the colorful flashes of light seen above thunderclouds. Read Project Summary

UNITE

Use your telescope to observe planets beyond our solar system. Unistellar telescope required. Read Project Summary

Other Citizen Science Projects NASA Has Supported

A black sphere eclipses the sun and colorful rays of light emanate from behind.

Citizen CATE 2024

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

A black square with the

Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

A silhouette image of 3 people with telescopes with the text Eclipse Megamovie above it.

Eclipse Megamovie

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics

Find and track penguin colonies. For anyone with a laptop.

Silhouette of a white cricket against a black background with a red and yellow gradient. Text reads Eclipse Soundscapes.org.

Eclipse Soundscapes

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

Floating Forests

Anyone with a cellphone or laptop can do this project.

Photo of a hand holding a mobile phone that is showing eclipse related citizen science graphics on the screen.

GLOBE Eclipse

This project is not currently seeking volunteers.

Heliophysics Audified: Resonances in Plasmas

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

Jovian Vortex Hunter

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

NeMO-Net

Play an iPad game and classify coral reefs by painting images of coral. For anyone with an iPad. Kid friendly!

Solar Active Region Spotter

This project is not currently seeking volunteers.

Solar Jet Hunter

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

A small yellow-chested bird sits on a tree branch.

Soundscapes to Landscapes

Live in Sonoma County, CA? Investigate biodiversity by recording the sounds of bird calls.

A black and white photo of

Stardust@Home

This project is not currently seeking volunteers.

An illustrated eclipse logo with a larger orange circle eclipsed by a slightly smaller black circle. There are 4 flares in the upper left side. The title SunSketcher sits below the log.

SunSketcher

This project is not currently seeking volunteers. Read Project Summary

Three people in winter jackets are taking measurements of snow.

Community Snow Observations

Near snow? Measure the depth with a ruler and report it with a smartphone to aid climate modeling and avalanche safety.

Two images of the moon's surface side by side, the left side is lighter than the right side and a new impact crater is highlighted in the right image. The title "Moon Diff" overlays the images. The "O's" in moon are images of the moon.

MoonDiff

Compare 1960s images to modern ones to spot changes in the Moon. For anyone with a laptop.

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