A laptop, an internet connection and a little curiosity could put you to work on real scientific questions, from identifying planets orbiting distant stars to studying mysterious clouds on Mars.
You do not need to be an astronaut, hold a science degree or own a telescope to participate in many NASA citizen science projects. These initiatives invite ordinary people to examine scientific data, recognize patterns, classify observations and contribute information that professional researchers can use in their investigations.
NASA’s official citizen science directory lists projects spanning astronomy, planetary science, Earth science and other research fields. Participation is not restricted to US citizens; many projects welcome volunteers from around the world. NASA also reports that citizen scientists have contributed to thousands of discoveries, with hundreds participating in scientific publications as co-authors.
For anyone who has ever wondered whether they could help discover another planet, investigate the Martian atmosphere or uncover clues about the universe, the opportunity is closer than it might seem.
Here are seven projects worth exploring, what you will actually do, the skills you need and how to get started.
1. Planet Hunters TESS: Search for planets around distant stars
Scientific field: Astronomy and exoplanet research
Official project: Planet Hunters TESS
Thousands of planets have been identified beyond our solar system, but the search is far from complete. Some potentially interesting planetary signals are difficult for automated computer programs to recognize. This is where human pattern recognition can help.
Planet Hunters TESS invites volunteers to examine observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, known as TESS. The spacecraft measures the brightness of stars, allowing researchers to search for the small, repeated dips in light that can occur when a planet passes in front of its star.
What participants actually do
You examine light curves, which are graphs showing how a star’s brightness changes over time. Your task is to identify patterns that might indicate a planetary transit and classify the observations using the project’s instructions.
Not every dip represents a planet. Stellar activity, instrumental effects and other astronomical phenomena can produce misleading signals. Researchers evaluate promising candidates using further analysis and observations.
Skills required
You need an internet-connected device, patience and a willingness to learn. No previous astronomy experience is required. NASA’s project guide indicates that the introductory tutorial takes approximately 10 minutes.
How to sign up
Visit the official project page, follow the link to the Planet Hunters TESS website, select Classify and complete the tutorial. You can then begin examining the available data.
Why your contribution matters: Your classifications can help researchers identify promising planetary candidates and investigate worlds that might otherwise be overlooked. A candidate is not automatically a confirmed exoplanet, but careful human review can help direct further scientific investigation.
2. Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 — Look for hidden objects beyond Neptune
Scientific field: Solar system science and astrophysics
Official project: Backyard Worlds: Planet 9
What if an important object in our cosmic neighbourhood has escaped detection because it is too faint, too cold or too difficult to distinguish from the background?
Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 invites volunteers to investigate images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission and its subsequent NEOWISE observations. These observations can reveal cool objects that emit much of their energy as infrared light.
The search includes brown dwarfs, objects larger than typical planets but not massive enough to sustain hydrogen fusion like ordinary stars. It has also explored the possibility of finding a hypothetical distant planet known as Planet Nine. Its existence remains unconfirmed.
What participants actually do
Volunteers inspect sequences of astronomical images and look for objects that appear to move against the background of more distant stars. The movement may reveal a nearby celestial object that deserves closer examination.
The task requires comparing images rather than simply spotting an unusual dot. Genuine candidates must be distinguished from image artefacts and other sources of apparent movement.
Skills required
A computer or smartphone with internet access is sufficient to begin. You do not need a telescope, advanced mathematics or professional astronomy training.
How to sign up
Open the official Backyard Worlds project page, follow the project website link and read its introductory instructions before examining images.
Why your contribution matters: Human observers can identify patterns in large image collections and flag potential discoveries for follow-up. The research can improve our understanding of nearby brown dwarfs and the population of objects beyond the outer planets.
One important distinction: joining the search does not mean Planet Nine has been discovered. The project investigates astronomical data; it does not establish the existence of an unconfirmed planet simply because a participant finds an unusual image.
3. GLOBE Observer — Turn your smartphone into a science tool
Scientific field: Earth science and climate research
Official project: NASA GLOBE Observer
Space research is not limited to distant planets. Understanding Earth’s atmosphere, vegetation and changing environment is equally important, and observations made on the ground can help scientists interpret what satellites see from orbit.
GLOBE Observer is a NASA-supported citizen science programme that enables volunteers to collect environmental observations using a smartphone. Depending on the available activity, participants can help document clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover and trees.
What participants actually do
After downloading the GLOBE Observer app, you choose an available observation activity and follow its instructions. For cloud observations, for example, you photograph the sky, record relevant conditions and submit the information through the app.
These ground-level observations can be compared with satellite measurements. A satellite may detect cloud cover across a large area, while a person’s observation can help researchers understand what was happening at a particular location and time.
You may need to step outdoors to collect observations, but you can complete the registration, training and much of the learning process from home.
Skills required
A compatible smartphone, the app and a willingness to follow the observation protocol are the main requirements. No formal scientific training is necessary. Some activities require location-specific observations or suitable environmental conditions.
How to sign up
Visit GLOBE Observer, select the activity that interests you, download the official app and follow its instructions for contributing observations.
Why your contribution matters: Environmental observations can help researchers validate satellite measurements, study local conditions and improve their understanding of changes in Earth’s atmosphere and surface. Consistent, correctly recorded observations are more useful than occasional photographs without scientific context.
For readers interested in climate science, this is a practical way to connect observations in their own surroundings with a much larger research effort.
4. Cloudspotting on Mars — Investigate the Red Planet’s atmosphere
Scientific field: Planetary science and atmospheric research
Official project: Cloudspotting on Mars
Mars has an atmosphere, weather systems and clouds, but its climate behaves differently from Earth’s. Understanding those differences helps scientists investigate how the planet’s atmosphere works and how it has changed over time.
Cloudspotting on Mars gives volunteers a chance to investigate observations collected by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The instrument gathers information about the Martian atmosphere. Scientists can use its measurements to identify signatures associated with clouds, including features that are not necessarily obvious in ordinary photographs.
What participants actually do
Participants learn to recognize cloud signatures in graphs of atmospheric measurements. They then examine the data and mark patterns that appear to correspond to clouds.
The work involves identifying evidence in scientific measurements rather than simply looking at attractive pictures of Mars. Your classifications help researchers assess the data and investigate the distribution and behaviour of Martian clouds.
Skills required
A computer or internet-connected mobile device is sufficient. NASA’s project guide describes an introductory tutorial of approximately 15 minutes, and no previous scientific knowledge is required.
How to sign up
Visit the official NASA Cloudspotting on Mars page, follow the project website link and complete the tutorial. The project also provides a discussion forum where participants can exchange questions and learn from the research community.
Why your contribution matters: Identifying cloud signatures helps researchers build a better picture of Martian atmospheric conditions. That knowledge contributes to planetary climate research and helps scientists understand how clouds influence the movement of energy through the atmosphere.
For anyone fascinated by Mars, this project offers something unusual: an opportunity to study the planet using measurements collected by a spacecraft millions of kilometres away.
5. Galaxy Zoo — Help scientists interpret images of distant galaxies
Scientific field: Galaxy evolution and astrophysics
Official project: Galaxy Zoo
Galaxies are not all shaped alike. Some form magnificent spirals, others appear smooth and elliptical, while some show irregular structures or signs of having interacted with neighbouring galaxies.
These differences are scientifically important. A galaxy’s structure can provide clues about its history, the influence of gravity and the processes that shape its evolution.
Galaxy Zoo invites volunteers to classify astronomical images, including images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
What participants actually do
You view a galaxy image and answer questions about its visible characteristics. Depending on the task, you might identify whether the galaxy has a spiral shape, examine its central region or note signs of an interaction with another galaxy.
Multiple participants can examine the same image. Their classifications provide a useful comparison against which researchers can assess patterns and investigate cases that deserve closer attention.
Skills required
You need an internet-connected computer or smartphone, an interest in astronomy and a little patience. You do not need to know how to operate a telescope or understand advanced astrophysics before starting.
How to sign up
Visit Galaxy Zoo on Zooniverse, read the introductory instructions and begin classifying images. Check the project’s current tasks to see which datasets are available.
Why your contribution matters: Galaxy classifications help researchers study how galaxies differ, how their structures relate to their environments and how galaxies have evolved over cosmic time.
Computers can process enormous numbers of images, but visual classification remains useful when researchers need to examine complicated shapes and compare human judgements with automated results. Your task may take only moments, yet the combined classifications of many volunteers can help scientists analyse large astronomical datasets.
6. Disk Detective — Find clues to how planetary systems form
Scientific field: Star formation and planetary system research
Official project: Disk Detective
Planets form from material surrounding young stars. These discs of gas and dust are important laboratories for understanding how planetary systems develop, but researchers need to distinguish genuine discs from other objects that can look similar in astronomical surveys.
Disk Detective makes this investigation accessible to volunteers.
The project uses images from astronomical surveys, including infrared observations, to help identify stars that may be surrounded by dusty material. Such systems can offer clues about the environments in which planets form and evolve.
What participants actually do
You inspect sets of astronomical images and compare how a source appears in different wavelengths. You then classify the object according to the project’s instructions, helping researchers separate promising candidates from look-alikes.
For example, a source that appears interesting in infrared observations may need further investigation to determine whether its signal comes from a disc or another astronomical object.
Skills required
An internet-connected device and careful attention to visual details are enough to get started. The project provides guidance, so professional astronomy experience is not required.
How to sign up
Go to Disk Detective on Zooniverse, review the instructions and begin classifying available images. As with any citizen science project, check the current task page because activities and datasets can change.
Why your contribution matters: Your classifications can help researchers identify candidate systems for additional study. Learning which stars host dusty discs helps astronomers investigate the environments surrounding stars and the processes associated with planetary system formation.
This is a good option for people who are curious about the origins of planets, including the long history that eventually produced a world like Earth.
7. Dark Energy Explorers — Help map the distant universe
Scientific field: Cosmology and astrophysics
Official project: Dark Energy Explorers
One of the biggest questions in cosmology is why the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Scientists use the term dark energy for the still-unexplained cause of this acceleration, but its physical nature remains uncertain.
Dark Energy Explorers gives volunteers an opportunity to help investigate this mystery by examining astronomical data collected through the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, known as HETDEX.
The experiment aims to map large numbers of distant galaxies. Their distribution across the universe provides information that astronomers can use to study cosmic expansion and the influence of dark energy over time.
What participants actually do
Volunteers inspect astronomical images and spectral data to determine whether signals are consistent with distant galaxies or may be false detections.
A spectrum shows how the light from an object varies across different wavelengths. Recognizing a genuine signal in noisy data can be challenging, which is why the project asks volunteers to help classify observations.
The project also uses these classifications to support machine-learning research, helping researchers develop and assess methods for distinguishing real astronomical signals from misleading ones.
Skills required
You need an internet-connected computer or smartphone. No previous knowledge of cosmology is required, and NASA’s project guide estimates that the introductory tutorial takes around 5–15 minutes.
How to sign up
Visit the official NASA project page, follow the link to the project website, select Classify and complete the tutorial before examining the data.
Why your contribution matters: Your classifications help researchers build cleaner catalogues of distant galaxies, improve machine-learning methods and support studies of how the universe expanded during its early history.
This project is particularly appealing if you want to contribute to research addressing one of the most fundamental unanswered questions in modern physics.
Which NASA citizen science project should you choose?
You do not have to join all seven. The best starting point depends on the questions that interest you most.
| If you are interested in… | Start with… | Main activity |
|---|---|---|
| Finding planets beyond our solar system | Planet Hunters TESS | Examine stellar brightness graphs |
| Hidden objects near our solar system | Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 | Compare astronomical images |
| Climate and Earth’s environment | GLOBE Observer | Record environmental observations |
| Mars and its weather | Cloudspotting on Mars | Identify atmospheric cloud signatures |
| Galaxy shapes and evolution | Galaxy Zoo | Classify galaxy images |
| How planetary systems form | Disk Detective | Examine stars for evidence of dusty discs |
| Dark energy and cosmic expansion | Dark Energy Explorers | Classify distant galaxies and signals |
Project availability, datasets and activities may change. Check the official pages before starting.
Do you need to be a US citizen to join NASA citizen science projects?
No. NASA’s citizen science programme welcomes participants internationally, and many projects are designed for people without formal scientific qualifications. You can find opportunities through the official NASA Citizen Science directory.
For someone living in India, this means you can begin investigating astronomical data from home without travelling to a research institution or purchasing expensive equipment.
Most of the projects described here need only an internet-connected device. GLOBE Observer is slightly different because certain activities require you to collect observations outdoors.
You should also understand the limits of your contribution. Citizen science is not a shortcut to becoming a published researcher, and an unusual pattern does not automatically represent a discovery. Scientists evaluate the evidence, compare observations and determine what conclusions the data support.
Nevertheless, participation can be meaningful. Volunteers have helped identify astronomical objects, improve scientific catalogues and contribute to peer-reviewed research. The combined effort of many people can make large datasets more useful to researchers.
How to get started without feeling overwhelmed
If you have never participated in scientific research, start with a single project and spend 15–20 minutes learning how it works.
First, visit its official website and complete the introductory tutorial. Then perform a few classifications or observations, read the explanations provided by the research team, and gradually increase your participation if you enjoy the process.
It is also worth exploring the NASA Science citizen science directory periodically. New opportunities appear, and existing projects may introduce fresh datasets or activities.
Keep a simple record of the projects you join, the tasks you complete and the questions you encounter. If you become particularly interested in a subject, the project’s research pages and discussion forums can help you learn more about the underlying science.
Most importantly, do not worry about making a spectacular discovery on your first day. Accurate, careful contributions are valuable even when they do not reveal anything extraordinary.
The next scientific discovery could begin with an ordinary person
Scientific progress is often associated with sophisticated laboratories, enormous telescopes and researchers working at the limits of human knowledge. Yet a growing part of modern research depends on people who are willing to look carefully at data and contribute their observations.
NASA citizen science projects offer a practical way to participate in that process. You could help identify a distant galaxy, investigate the atmosphere of Mars, search for an overlooked planetary candidate or collect observations that improve our understanding of Earth.
There is no guarantee that your contribution will lead to a headline-making discovery. That is not the point. Science advances through evidence, careful analysis and the accumulation of reliable observations.
The remarkable part is that you do not have to wait for a space mission to launch or a telescope to become available. In many cases, the data already exist, the instructions are freely accessible, and the first step is simply choosing a question that interests you.
Your journey into citizen science can begin today, right from home.
