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Newly Selected Citizen Science Proposals: A Peek at What’s Next

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Newly Selected Citizen Science Proposals: A Peek at What’s Next

Last year, the NASA citizen science community saw a prize from the White House and two prizes from professional societies: one from the Division of Planetary Sciences and one from the American Astronomical Society. Our teams published two papers in the prestigious journal, Nature, one on a planetary crash and one about a distant world that seems to have auroras. 2024 was a year of 5000 comets, two solar eclipses and plenty of broken records.

But we’re not stopping to rest on our laurels. In 2024, NASA selected 25 new citizen science proposals for funding that will lead to new projects and new results to look forward to in 2025 and beyond. Here’s a roundup of those selections and the principal investigators (PIs) of each team—a sneak peek at what’s coming next in NASA citizen science! Note that these investigations are research grants–some of them will result in new opportunities for the public, others will use results from earlier citizen science projects or develop new tools.

Photo of a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as a red sprite, captured against a starry night sky. The red sprite appears as a glowing, jagged, and diffuse burst of red light, topped by a faint green halo. The horizon shows silhouetted mountains and a distant illuminated cloud, adding depth to the image.
Bright green glow observed from Texas on June 1, 2024, by Stephen Hummel. A new grant to the Spritacular project team will support citizen science research on this newly-discovered phenomenon.
Stephen Hummel

Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP)

The CSSFP aims to support scientists and other experts to develop citizen science projects and to expand the pool of scientists who use citizen science techniques in their science investigations. Four divisions of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate are participating in the CSSFP: the Astrophysics Division, the Biological and Physical Sciences Division, the Heliophysics Division, and the Planetary Science Division. Nine new investigations were recently selected through this program:

Astrophysics Division

  • SuPerPiG Observing Grid, PI Rachel Huchmala, Boise State University. Use a small telescope to monitor exoplanets to improve our knowledge of their orbits.
  • Understanding the Nature of Clumpy Galaxies with Clump-Scout 2: a New Citizen-Science Project to Characterize Star-Forming Clumps in Nearby Galaxies. PI Claudia Scarlata, University of Minnesota. Label clumps of distant galaxies to help us understand Hubble Space Telescope data.
  • ‘Backyard Worlds: Binaries’ — Discovering Benchmark Brown Dwarfs Through Citizen Science. PI Aaron Meisner, NSF’s NOIRLab. Search for planet-like objects called brown dwarfs that orbit nearby stars.
  • Mobile Toolkits to Enable Transient Follow-up Observations by Amateur Astronomers. PI Michael Coughlin, University of Minnesota. Use your own telescope to observe supernovae, kilonovae and other massive explosions.

Planetary Science Division

  • A Citizen Scientist Approach to High Resolution Geologic Mapping of Intracrater Impact Melt Deposits as an input to Numerical Models, PI Kirby Runyon, Planetary Science Institute. Help map lunar craters so we can better understand how meteor impacts sculpt the moon’s surface.
  • Identifying Active Asteroids in Public Datasets, PI Chad Trujillo, Northern Arizona University, Search for icy, comet-like bodies hiding in the asteroid belt using new data from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. 

Heliophysics Division

  • Enabling Magnetopause Observations With Informal Researchers (EMPOWR). PI Mo Wenil, Johns Hopkins University. Investigate plasma layers high above the Earth using data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission and the Zooniverse platform.
  • High-resolution Ionospheric Imaging using Dual-Frequency Smartphones. PI Josh Semeter, Boston University. Study the upper atmosphere using cell phone signals.
  • Large Scale Structures Originating from the Sun (LASSOS) multi-point catalog: A citizen project connecting operations to research.  PI Cecelia Mac Cormack, Catholic University of America. Help build a catalog of structures on the Sun.
  • Comet Identification and Image Annotation Modernization for the Sungrazer Citizen Science Project. PI Oliver Gerland. Search for comets in data from ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission using new web tools.

Heliophysics Citizen Science Investigations (HCSI)

The HCSI program supports medium-scale citizen science projects in the Heliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.  Six investigations were recently selected through this program:

  • Investigation of green afterglow observed above sprite and gigantic jet tops based on Spritacular project database, PI Burcu Kosar. Photograph electric phenomena above storm clouds to help us understand a newly discovered green glow and learn about atmospheric chemistry.
  • Machine Learning competition for Solar Wind prediction in preparation of solar maximum. PI Enrico Camporeale, University of Colorado, Boulder. Take part in a competition to predict the speed of the solar wind using machine learning.
  • A HamSCI investigation of the bottomside ionosphere during the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses. PI Gareth Perry, New Jersey Institute of Technology. Use Ham Radio data to investigate the effects of solar eclipses on the ionosphere.
  • Dynamic footprint in mid-latitude mesospheric clouds. PI Chihiko Cullens,  University of Colorado, Boulder. Collect and analyze data on noctilucent clouds, rare high-altitude clouds that shine at night.
  • Monitoring Solar Activity During Solar Cycle 25 with the GAVRT Solar Patrol Science and Education Program. PI Marin Anderson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Track solar activity during the period leading up to and including solar maximum.
  • What is the total energy input to the heliosphere from solar jets? PI Nour Rawafi, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Identify solar jets in images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory

Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program (CSESP)  

CSESP opportunities focus on developing and implementing projects that harness contributions from members of the general public to advance our understanding of Earth as a system. Proposals for the 2024 request were required to demonstrate a clear link between citizen science and NASA observation systems to advance the agency’s Earth science mission. Nine projects received funding.

  • Engaging Citizen Scientists for Inclusive Earth Systems Monitoring, PI Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University. Measure trees in tropical regions south of the equator with the GLOBE Observer App to improve models of vegetation structure and biomass models from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission.
  • Integrating Remote Sensing and Citizen Science to Support Conservation of Woodland Vernal Pools, PI Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Michigan Technological University. Map and monitor shallow, seasonal wetlands in Michigan, Wisconsin and New York to better understand these key habitats of amphibians and other invertebrates.
  • Citizen-Enabled Measurement of PM2.5 and Black Carbon: Addressing Local Inequities and Validating PM Composition from MAIA, Albert Presto/Carnegie Mellon University. Deploy sensors to measure sources of fine airborne particle pollution filling gaps in data from NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission.
  • Expanding Citizen Science Hail Observations for Validation of NASA Satellite Algorithms and Understanding of Hail Melt, PI Russ Schumacher, Colorado State University. Measure the sizes and shapes of hailstones, starting in the southeastern United States, using photographs and special pads to help us understand microwave satellite data. 
  • X-Snow: A Citizen-Science Proposal for Snow in the New York Area, PI, Marco Tedesco, Columbia University. Measure snow in the Catskill and Adirondacks regions of New York to help improve NASA’s models of snow depth and water content.
  • Coupling Citizen Science and Remote Sensing Observations to Assess the Impacts of Icebergs on Coastal Arctic Ecosystems, PI, Maria Vernet, University of California, San Diego. Measure phytoplankton samples in polar regions to understand how icebergs and their meltwater affect phytoplankton concentration and biodiversity. 
  • Forecasting Mosquito-Borne Disease Risk in a Changing Climate: Integrating GLOBE Citizen Science and NASA Earth System Modeling, PI Di Yang, University of Florida, Gainesville. Using data on mosquitoes from the GLOBE Observer App to predict future changes in mosquito-borne disease risk.
  • Ozone Measurements from General Aviation: Supporting TEMPO Satellite Validation and Addressing Air Quality Issues in California’s San Joaquin Valley with Citizen Science, PI Emma Yates, NASA Ames Research Center. Deploy air-quality sensors around Bakersfield, California and compare the data to measurements from NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument (TEMPO).
  • Under the Canopy: Capturing the Role of Understory Phenology on Animal Communities Using Citizen Science, PI Benjamin Zuckerberg, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Measure snow depth, temperature, and sound in forest understories to improve satellite-based models of vegetation and snow cover for better modeling of wildlife communities. 

For more information on citizen science awards from previous years, see articles from: 

For more information on NASA’s citizen science programs, visit https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience.

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