Book 8, Question 139
Why Do Citizen Scientists Help Real Missions?
Citizen scientists help real missions because people can spot patterns that computers sometimes miss! Space missions collect huge piles of pictures and data. Everyday volunteers help sort them, and real discoveries happen.
More fun facts
- Citizen science means volunteers team up with scientists to answer real questions.
- Volunteers and amateurs have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries.
- In the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project, volunteers search for new objects at the edge of our solar system.
- NASA's first citizen science project, Stardust@home, asked people to hunt for tiny dust grains from beyond our solar system caught by the Stardust mission.
- Citizen scientists also help by collecting and sharing data from their own communities.
- NASA even has a Citizen Science Officer to help connect volunteers with research.
Sources: NOAA, NASA Science, NASA Science, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
How can volunteers help NASA?
In projects like Backyard Worlds, volunteers look through real data to help find new objects in space.