This proposal builds on a highly successful NASA-zooniverse partnership and advances a strategic high-impact effort to scale the integration of citizen science and AI in support of NASA's science…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center awarded the Adler Planetarium a Cooperative Agreement valued at $300,000 on October 1, 2025, to scale the integration of citizen science and artificial intelligence in support of NASA's science priorities under the Science program (CFDA 43.001). The award builds on a previously successful NASA-Zooniverse partnership.

Work performed includes platform reliability and longevity efforts for the Zooniverse infrastructure and tools that research communities use in conjunction with NASA data. The Adler Planetarium leads the effort with strategic direction from Project PI Laura Trouille and serves as the administrative and prime recipient. The Regents of the University of Minnesota, acting through its Office of Sponsored Projects Administration, serves as a sub-grantee. University of Minnesota personnel, including Co-Investigator Lucy Fortson (PI of the UMN-Zooniverse team), provide strategic leadership and coordination across the Zooniverse collaboration. The University of Minnesota's deliverables span two work packages: accelerating NASA research and discovery through NASA-Zooniverse project building, launch, and promotion (targeting three to four new NASA-Zooniverse projects annually across all Science Mission Directorates), and optimizing Zooniverse tools including Groups and machine learning integration to remove critical bottlenecks in the pathway from data collection to publication and discovery.

Period of performance runs from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Work is performed in Chicago, Illinois.

This proposal builds on a highly successful NASA-zooniverse partnership and advances a strategic high-impact effort to scale the integration of citizen science and AI in support of NASA's science priorities.